Facebook and Friends
Recently, a lot of my friends have started using their facebook status to post political beliefs. I think it’s great, however it does come at a price for friends of yours who don’t agree with you.
You see, on facebook, it’s my closest friends reading my status. So if a friend with a dissenting opinion reads my status and is compelled by a post to offer a differing opinion, he can’t reply to it to argue because he would do so knowing I have spent my entire life orienting myself with a group of friends which essentially forms an overly complex system of confirmation bias.
To correct this, people post on their OWN facebook status their own beliefs. This forms a cycle in which everyone is expousing beliefs to cope with annoying friends they disagree with.
Is this a bad thing? I am not sure. People are discussing their ideas more, and becoming more interested in policies and politics. Regardless, I have a feeling it is one small stone in a large quarry of the trend of people grouping up more and more by self similarity in society. Doing so is rational, beneficial, yet perhaps less colorful.
March 14th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
i agree that some degree of confirmation bias is unavoidable, it’s frustrating when i realize how much i’ve filtered out over the years–especially with regard to my education. who knows how many more things i could/should know.
but even though people know that you’ve spent most of your life forming your beliefs, i wouldn’t go so far as to say that someone can’t reply to your post and dissent to one of your opinions. it’s quite possible that the majority of people wouldn’t reply because they don’t want to offend you or challenge your beliefs, but i think there’s at least a few people who would reply; saying “can’t” makes it seem like it’s impossibe.
and finally, facebook’s nothing but trouble. it encourages passive-aggressive behaviour exactly how you described, allowing people one-way access to other people’s personal information and allowing them to form their own opinions about a person without even talking to them. i always felt like i was spying on people when i was reading their profiles. and facebook promotes vanity with those ridiculous gifts and books and friend lists and maps of places you’ve gone and whatever else they have by now.