Your Facebook Posts About the Election Aren’t Changing as Many Minds as You Think

According to a new survey, if you've been posting your political views on Facebook hoping that your friends will be influenced, you're probably wasting your time.

I know I'm not alone when I say I am growing increasingly tired of politics. With the U.S. being really close to a presidential election, things are even more heated than usual. I am especially sick of the political posts all over my Facebook newsfeed. If it was just 'here's who I'm supporting and this is why I like them,' that would be one thing, but it's not like that at all. People are constantly bashing opposing candidates, viciously attacking each other, calling each other names, and posting fake political articles/memes and believing them to be true. I'm always interested in a factual and mature debate, but that's not usually what I see on social media.

If I post something about my personal political beliefs that opposes your personal political beliefs, is that going to change your mind? I'm going to assume that the answer is "no." My assumption has turned out to be fairly accurate. According to the social media marketing firm Rantic, 90% of people on Facebook have NEVER changed a political view because of a friend's Facebook post. This survey was taken by 10,000 Facebook users across the political spectrum. If you break it down by political party, 94% of Republicans, 92% of Democrats, and 85% of independents say that your posts have never changed their mind on any political issue. Here are a few other findings from the survey:

• Republicans are slightly more likely to post their political views than Democrats. 39% to 34%.
• Despite all of the political posts, only 36% of republicans and 31% of democrats think that social media is an appropriate place to discuss politics.
• Republicans are also more likely to judge people based on their political opinions than democrats, 61% to 53%.
• 18% of democrats have deleted someone because of a political post, compared to only 12% of republicans.

So, if that 10% of people who have changed their mind because of a political post is enough to keep you posting, then you do you, boo boo! This is America and you have the right to post what you want to post. Personally, I like to get my political fix from the news and my baby/dog/recipe/funny video fix from Facebook, but that's just me.

[Via Wired]