Social Media: Voicing Opinions

I see a great deal of pro-SJW topics on things like Facebook, and hardly nothing that is anti-SJW topics. It's prompted me to ask: When you see something in the news which generates a lot of discussion amongst your friends list, and you disagree with the majority of your friends list on a topic, do you find yourself conflicted in voice your opinion? Do you decide not to voice it at all?

For example, if everyone you know supported Donald Trump and you supported Bernie Sanders, would you feel like you could not voice your support for Sanders?

Great question! I generally try to avoid using Facebook to share political or religious opinions. A social network just doesn't seem like the right place for it and I get really annoyed when other people do it. I equate it to people who want to argue politics or religion at the pub. Save your opinions and let me drink my beer in peace!

I really only get into it if someone is being blatantly racist, sexist, or just plain mean. Even then I usually just block them.

Now, my loyalty to professional sports teams is a different issue. I'll share my opinions about that all day! :laugh:

This is an interesting topic, one which I struggle with. It depends greatly on the topic and the friend group I am currently in (in person or on social media).

Let's take your Donald Trump analogy. I normally refrain from posting anything political on social media. For me social media is meant for entertainment rather than ideological discussion as it is a platform that is ill-suited for such. I prefer to only post things that will bring a smile to my face and the faces of others. The internet is so full of upsetting material that I don't want to pile on. I will "like" things of a political nature that I agree with but I will rarely comment and even more rarely share to my own page.

I have also found it futile to have political discussions online (even here we have had trouble with that). All it's done in the past is anger me. I also am fairly sure that a number of my friends and family support Donald Trump and I really don't want to find out for sure if I don't have to. I get along with them well as long as those kinds of topics don't come up and I don't see a lot of reason to sully our relationships with that kind of thing if it's not necessary.

The difficulty with social media is that it's harder to filter out who gets which discussions. In person I can look around and say "well I'm at my mom's house with her family, probably not the time to talk about which gun I'm going to buy next and what kind of ammo it needs" or "I'm at work with my very Catholic boss, maybe I'll avoid discussing the fact that I'm a Jedi." On social media platforms what you put out there gets put out there. Even with groups and filters and privacy settings it's hard to be sure that you cater to the discussions appropriate to the situation. As such, I keep social media superficial.

Movies, TV, music, sports, funny animals, etc. Those are perfectly acceptable social media discussions. Politics, religion, philosophy, and the like just aren't meant for such a shallow means of communication.

Goken wrote: It depends greatly on the topic and the friend group I am currently in (in person or on social media).

Yep.

Senan wrote: I really only get into it if someone is being blatantly racist, sexist, or just plain mean. Even then I usually just block them.

Yep. I had to learn the hard way that it doesn't matter how eloquent or logical I might be, I'm not very likely to change other people's opinions -- and changing people's opinions is pretty much what I get paid to do. When it comes to political discussions especially, I find that we're often not even starting with the same set of operative facts, much less opinions and values.

I share my view under one or both of two conditions:

1. It is somewhere that discussing it will be respected and understood regardless of if its agreed with.

2. If I am asked for my opinion, since much of the time when I'm not asked, it is frequently not necessary for me to share. If my desire to share has more to do with flaunting my ego, then I don't bother.

That said, I don't participate in social media anyway.

For me I dump political views and religious views and other personal opinions and beliefs all in the same category for the most part.

With that in mind here is my thought process. Websites like Facebook, are designed for broadcasting your life, your views, your whatever. You are on it because you want the option to put that out there, your also accepting the option of seeing everyone else's life,views,opinions. If you don't want to share some of your own views that's fine, but your on a website designed for just that.

Now putting facebook aside, I have a policy of sorts that if you don't come into my personal space and try and shove something in front of it, I don't mind what you do. Meaning if your putting up billboards or advertisements or posters about your thursday night bible book club, thats great, you should make yourself available in that way so that if people are looking to join such a thing or for people with similar views you are advertising yourself. If you show up to my door step of my house, and start telling me where I should be and what I should believe in, then you and I are gonna have at it. You entered my personal space.

The same thing kinda applies to my facebook in that respect in that I don't mind whatever people post, but don't show up at my door step or start sending me private messages about it. I also as a public servant(EMT) have to be careful of what I put up on my facebook that is visible to the public, and make sure that I don't put anything out there that one group can get upset about over another should I ever be put in the spotlight. Which is another big issue in itself altogether. So I rarely get into those discussions except in the appropriate places.

TOTJO for example, is a place to discuss beliefs, specifically about Jediism, or things related or intertwined to it. That's an appropriate place to have that conversation. Discussing it in a catholic church on a sunday in the middle of mass, not so much...

If it get's too much for me, and for some reason I cannot ignore it (like its really silly stuff), I'll just send a polite message saying I prefer to keep that platform clear of political discussion and so if it gets too much I might unfriend you but please know it's just for that reason and you can contact me personally whenever you want for any reason, even politics! Sometimes that alone will make them tone it down a notch, for a little while at least, then, if I can't stand it anymore I just unfriend them. The good thing is it doesn't betray my actual position on any of the politics in question (if that is a concern).

If I couldn't unfriend them then I'd look at options to remove their content from the offending feed, and revert to checking in on their page as required to keep in touch with their activity.... or simply just not read that particular stuff.

If I felt compelled to join in the discussion, then yea I just would, but as you would no doubt already know - it depends on the individual circumstances because often these positions are rather set in stone and often involve vilification of opposing viewpoints to prop up their own views.

I have been known to make political opinions known on social media publicly, as I don't mind what people think so much about my politics. A thing to consider though is ones work, as you would not want to cause potential detriment to present or future job opportunities by saying stuff in public which could compromise your employability etc.

I'm not really interested in arguments my friends have over politics of whose the most viable, most noble, most this or that superlative candidate. Normally, I just ignore it. There are a couple who have demonstrated a certain single-mindedness about broadcasting their views on Facebook. For those people I have decided to hit the "unfollow" button. It allows me to be their friend, check up on them, without constantly feeling like my feed is being assaulted with outrageously one-sided arguments. Eventually, probably in late November or early December 2016, I'll hit the "follow" button and we'll resume our regularly schedule Facebook interactions.

When it comes to social media and opinions, I feel that if my opinion adds to a resolve then i will give it. But, if It is going to stir up a pot that IS or is showing signs to being stirred up, then i will pass on my opinion. Political opinions usually have the potential to spark up a heated argument or ill emotions. I realize that my political opinion on matters is a thought that I (me meaning myself only)(redundant) follow based off my current understanding on how i interpret my experiences and the experiences of others. I have a unique experience...so my point of view is just as unique. Therefore, I assume others have the freedom to support and follow their own political preference.

Also on social media the people that are privy to my timeline are people that (for the most part) understand what type of person I am and aren't the type of people to agitate or antagonize (in an unpleasant way) a thought that i share. yes, we get into discussions. But, no one is trying to disrespect the other person for feeling the way that they do.

If you have to oppress your own freedom to exercise reason, the environment is oppressing human rights. Like most threads will have people persisting to force their opinion on others, everyone must remember there's zero entitlement to opinion. Like the saying, opinions are very much two cents, and opinionated people might as well keep their two cents. When there's a collective of opinionated people donating their two cents, especially when and where their two cents may not be warranted; there is a large mass of coins that obstructs everyone. We only have entitlement to the freedom to express reasoning because the value is worth much more.