Posted on 02/01/2017 11:21:12 PM PST by nickcarraway
Online civil wars heat up
Call it Facebook Fatigue. People are simply getting fed up with all the political posts that are showing up on their Facebook page.
Lisa Whitlock says she doesn't mind talking politics to people face-to-face but she is appalled by the social media fighting, insults and name calling on Facebook.
"I feel like I'm on reality TV, this is ridiculous," says Whitlock.
Lori Cellucci supported President Trump but wishes people would tone down the discussion on both sides.
"I would like Facebook to be less combative," said Cellucci.
Psychologist Walt Cieko says people will say things online they would never say to someone in person.
"I think there are some people who think they have superior knowledge and they just have to get it out to those with inferior knowledge," said Cieko.
But those comments have repercussions like nasty replies and unfriending, both online and in real life.
People in San Diego tell me they've unfriended family members. One couple said they canceled a trip with another couple over their postings on Facebook.
Rachel Whitlock wishes for the old days, "Please start posting kid pictures and vacation pictures and dog pictures, I don't even care."
The problem arises when people feel they have to prove themselves right. That is what forums such as this one are for: spirited debate (although there really isn’t as much of that as in the past.)
I have a great diversity of Facebook friends and my solution to liberal posts is to stop “Following” the poster while maintaining the friendship. What I don’t do is argue with them. It’s pointless.
I quit fb
The problem comes about when you follow a page such as Lou Dobbs or Red White and News and you comment on that thread. If the group is public, it will then get posted to all of your friends’ Facebook feeds, whether they follow the group or not. They should give you the option of selecting which of your comments you want friends to see, same as when you generate your own posts.
I gave up arguing with libs a long time ago, after discovering the same thing. It's like trying to have a civil conversation with a ticked off Tasmanian Devil.
Well put.
If Trump could figure out a way that everyone gets free health care, no one pays any taxes and he would still get beat up on FB.
Got a bunch a super conservative fb friends and some friends who have drifted far left. Con’s are pretty outspoken right now, while the libs are hinty and passive aggressive.
I don’t do facebook, but if I did, I would have two accounts - one for sharing pics with family and friends, and a separate one for sharing political opinions with the world.
I agree with that. I don’t want “friends” to see what I comment on.
so politics is the end of fakebook. aint life grand!
I left FB awhile ago. It’s just not good business. People get fired over stuff they post, and I don’t want zuckerberg to get a nickel off my time.
For the first time ever, I had unfollowed a ‘friend’ as the election approached bc her posts were over-the-top obnoxious and insulting. However the number of infuriating posts after the election prompted me to unfollow anyone posting negativity more than once. Now FB is a pleasant way to pass a few minutes here and there.
It’s ironic facebook is so popular with liberals, considering it began as a way for upperclassmen in the “campus rape culture” to rate the incoming female freshman “talent.”
They try to discourage and eliminate “fake” accounts, given that facebook’s main purpose is to sell your personal data to advertisers.
I have a great diversity of Facebook friends and my solution to liberal posts is to stop “Following” the poster while maintaining the friendship. What I don’t do is argue with them. It’s pointless.
That was my solution as well.
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