Maine news, sports, weather from Waterville Morning Sentinel

October 15, 2012

To post, or not to post, politics on Facebook

'Friendship' strained by sharing opinions on social media

BY JOHN RICHARDSON

Alyssa Eppich, of Saco, said she learned the hard way that politics and Facebook don't always mix.

She once posted a comment on her Facebook page that was supportive of President Barack Obama. It cost her a 10-year friendship with a woman who, as it turned out, was politically conservative and anti-Obama.

"She dropped me and I got this very nasty note about it," the 53-year-old said. "I don't think you drop old friends because you disagree politically."

As Election Day approaches and political passions boil, lots of friends and relatives are learning more about each other on social media than they wanted to know. Politics is ending a lot of friendships, or at least the Facebook version of them.

While most social network users say they avoid posting their political views online, nearly 40 percent also say they have been surprised by the political views posted by their friends, according to a survey earlier this year by the Pew Research Center.

Nearly 20 percent say they have blocked, "unfriended" or hidden someone because the person posted too much about politics. These days, it's a dilemma that can come up every time you log on.

"There are places that I go to read about politics, and Facebook is not one of them. I go there to socialize and find out what my friends are up to," said Greg Marsh, a 33-year-old Portland native now living in San Francisco.

Marsh routinely blocks comments from friends when their political posts get "more annoying than interesting," he said. He does it gently, however, using a Facebook function to hide their comments without their knowledge rather than unfriending them outright. There's no gentle way to cut off a Twitter feed, however, so he just "unfollows" them, he said.

Greg Marks, a 42-year-old Portlander, said he has been surprised by some of the intense political views of his Facebook friends, too; but he keeps them as friends because he figures it's better to know what they are thinking.

"Based on their Facebook posts, I can engage with them on a more personal level and also stay clear of issues," he said. "It's good to know who your enemies are and who your friends are."

Facebook users say the anger level of political posts is picking up, and there was a lot more unfriending going on after the first presidential debate.

Alyssa Eppich, of Saco, said she really likes to see other people's opinions, but worries many Americans are isolating themselves from differing opinions.

After losing a friend over online politics and reading nasty comments on her Facebook page, she gathered a subgroup of Facebook friends who trade political opinions on a separate, restricted page.

The members of the subgroup don't all agree politically, but they do agree to be respectful, she said.

Eppich wishes it hadn't come to that. She , and she doesn't want to be one of them, she said.

"I really believe that we need to keep the conversations open and we need to consider everybody's opinion," Eppich said, but she added that Facebook is a risky place to do it.

"There is no middle ground on which we can meet to talk about what's going on in this country."

Cecily Muller, 58, of Windham, even has posted a disclaimer on her Facebook page: "I don't post anything political or religious."

"I wouldn't walk into a room of people and say, 'Oh, Mitt Romney is full of (it).' Facebook is the same thing," she said.

(Continued on page 2)

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