Political thought has been present in social media since I've been a part of it, which I suppose dates back to my joining Facebook in the fall of 2004. Back then, Facebook had a whole different purpose than it does now. It was a tool to help meet people, help people to learn about each other, maybe find a date to a dance, and spread the word on the mundane joys and lamentations of everyday life. There were occasional political posts (which apathetic college-kid-me pretty much always found annoying, regardless of underlying sentiment), but they were generally sparing. Maybe that's because the medium hadn't yet evolved into a tool for discussion, and maybe that's because the people I was Facebook friends with were also college students, many of whom were also apathetic and hadn't fully formed their world views.
For awhile, social media seemed to me like an unmitigated good thing. It eventually evolved to become a useful photo album in addition to the things listed above. The advent of the news feed, despite seeming creepy at first, made sharing daily updates on thoughts and events even simpler.
I think everything changed for me in February, 2009 with the introduction of the "Like" button. Those in the know will laugh upon reading this, but I think that was when Facebook started to die. With the introduction of "Likes", everything you posted to Facebook would receive a very public score based on the size of your audience (number of friends), the "quality" of what you're sharing, and the general affinity people have for you. Whether people want to admit it or not, the idea of that "score" eventually wound up limiting the number of things that people thought were worth sharing. Worse still, for many, the "score" became an end in of itself, and the associated dopamine high became the primary reason for posting, rather than keeping in touch with people. And so, thoughts about life's daily nuances, little jokes, sports thoughts, and other mundane, low-stakes stuff got pushed to the side to make way only for things that are likely to draw big reactions.
I think that this trend lent itself to increased sharing of thoughts on social issues. Now that your opinion gets scored like we're on Around the Horn, there's additional motivation to share it. People care deeply about political issues and are more likely to notice and react to those posts than they would about the weather or some tough assignment you have at work.
I've rarely ventured into this realm (though have slipped there a couple times), but I've often wondered what drives people to do this. Is it the "Likes" that serve as public validation for you and your opinions? Is it a genuine thought and desire that your comments will sway people to your way of thinking? A way to announce your thoughts to a wide audience, which provides an outlet for venting that's otherwise impossible? Is it pure virtue signaling? That last one is the most cynical and likely not the broadest cause, but in some situations it's pretty apt.
If I'm being perfectly honest, I have my doubts that the motives for sharing political opinions on social media are anywhere near as pure as the usually genuinely good thoughts (be it reducing gun violence, improving standard-of-living/economy, helping the marginalized, etc.) behind them. My theory is that most people are good, loving, caring individuals and social media's scoring system distorts those good qualities into something selfish and angry. Wicked-clever burns on someone you disagree with just so happen to run up the score, so they're rewarded on social media where genuine attempts at respectful dialogue are not.
It feels to me like the net result has been the breeding a culture of outrage and hate. Facebook and Twitter both expand the audience for one's thoughts beyond the closer circle of friends and family that populate one's non-internet life. This inner circle (which isn't even necessarily that small) knows you at a level beyond your political opinions and won't reduce their impression of you to "human garbage" just because you don't see eye-to-eye on abortion, taxes, or health care. With social media, your sociopolitical ideas are broadcast to a far wider audience, many of whom don't (or no longer) know the "real" you. Someone's complete opinion of you might be centered around where you stand on one issue -- and how loudly you stand there. With no need to work together, live together, hang out together, or even see one another, much of the impetus to be respectful goes out the window and we're often just left with hostility -- though if the hostility is funny it'll get liked and shared a lot.
All of that said, political discourse on social media is not without its benefits. Before joining Twitter, there was actually a lot going on in the world on a day-to-day basis to which I was kind of oblivious. Seeing the way others think on both sides of a given issue has helped me to fully realize my own opinions. I now better recognize the importance and stakes of various hot-button topics to which I was once indifferent. I could do without much of the spin, but the information spread is in of itself a good thing, whether that's in the form of news or touching personal experiences.
Still, for me, the negatives of jumping into that fray far outweigh the positives. Because I do feel strongly on a variety of issues, I'm often tempted to dive into arguments or even set up an anonymous alternate account just to vent, but I've never quite pulled the trigger. I'm glad to discuss such things with people in a more private forum, but the sensitivity of these issues makes me uncomfortable with doing so on the platform offered by social media. I barely post on Facebook anymore and I set up my Twitter account predominantly for baseball discussion, with some splashes of the "regular life stuff" I talked about above that's no longer suitable for Facebook. That's the right balance for me, but I certainly respect and understand those who are more inclined to speak their mind.
Typically, I share posts to social media, but after writing all that, I'm gonna try to avoid that particular brand of hypocrisy. I figure that anyone interested in my thoughts knows where to find them.
