The other day as I was procrastinating household chores I needed to do I began mindlessly scrolling Facebook. As I often do, I ended up on my neighborhood’s Facebook page, which is usually very entertaining. On this page full of people complaining about people not picking up their dog’s poop or kids fishing in their ponds, there was a post about a neighbor with “no trespassing” signs in their yard. After just a couple hours of this being posted, there were close to 15 comments from neighbors that somehow managed to turn into a political debate about personal freedoms and rights vs. HOA rules that some neighbors consider “communism”. It was bananas to see how a conversation about something that seems so far from politics can go sideways and turn into a very political and heated debate.

Naturally, I had questions. And thanks to a study from Northwestern’s Institute for Policy Research, we now have some answers. According to researchers Michalis Mamakos and Eli Finkel, the people participating in online political conversations are not necessarily angry because they’re talking politics. They were often kind of angry to begin with. Their study analyzed millions of Reddit comments and found that people who engage in political debates are more toxic overall, even when they’re talking about totally unrelated stuff like movies or sports.

It gets worse. These toxic comments? They’re the ones that get the most attention. The more hostile the message, the more it spreads. That’s how the internet works. Algorithms reward outrage. So those “mom groups” where every post ends in a passive-aggressive meltdown? Not a glitch. That’s the system working exactly as designed. This Facebook page highlighting these types of triggering posts is exactly what the algorithm wants. 

Here’s what that means for us: First, don’t assume those nasty voices represent everyone. They’re just the loudest. Second, we need to show up. Thoughtful people often sit things out online, which just makes more room for the chaos. And finally, next time you’re tempted to clap back at someone from the neighborhood Facebook group? Maybe take a breath and remember: the comment section isn’t real life. But your sanity? That’s worth preserving.

Source:

Why are online political discussions so toxic?: Institute for Policy Research – Northwestern University. (n.d.). https://www.ipr.northwestern.edu/news/2023/why-are-online-political-discussions-so-toxic.html