The accepted wisdom goes that we’re all much more likely to be argumentative online than we’d ever be talking to someone face-to-face. Behind the relatively safety of the keyboard and drunk on our own anonymity, it’s easy for even the most reasonable of us to basically go bat-shit crazy with the insults and arguments jumping from lol to troll (sorry – physically couldn’t stop myself) in just a few clicks.
But there’s a new story that’s calling bullshit on that theory because, apparently, social media actually stifles argument and discussion on important issues rather than giving people the bravery to say exactly what they think. The report from the Pew Research Centre also shockingly found that social media use had a knock-on affect on real-life conversations too, with researchers finding that frequent Facebook or Twitter users were less likely to share their opinions in face-to-face discussions than those who didn’t use social media regularly.
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The researchers spoke to 1,801 American adults and traced their reaction to Edward Snowden’s revelations in 2013 about widespread US government surveillance. The topic was chosen because it was considered to be pretty divisive, with 44 per cent of Americans saying that the release of the information was harmful compared to 49 per cent who said it was beneficial.
Interestingly, the researchers found that, far from making arguments and debate more likely, social media nurtured a phenomenon known as the ‘spiral of silence’, a term coined in the 1970s which refers to people who suppress their views if they think they differ from those of their family, friends or work mates.
Although it might seem like there are a million different voices and viewpoints out there when you scroll through your Twitter feed, the research suggests that internet users tend to clump together with others that share the same opinions. The report explained: ‘Thus, it might be the case that people do not want to disclose their minority views for fear of disappointing their friends, getting into fruitless arguments, or losing them entirely.’
So, when it comes to getting into arguments the unfortunate truth seems to be that we tend to jump off a bridge if other people are doing it as well. Which is not exactly the BEST write up in the world, but it’s a marginal improvement on the whole ‘troll’ stereotype, isn’t it? Every cloud…
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophicullinane
Picture: Barbora Mrazkova
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.