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The danger of posting politics on Facebook

Posted on August 9th, 2012 by Arden Clise |

While on Facebook I saw a friend had posted a political video. I watched the video and thought, wow, this is really great information. So, I shared the video and posted why I thought it was worth watching. An hour later I started to have regrets. I had justified that the post was somewhat non-partisan, more issue based, but I knew in my gut it was still a political post. I also know and preach that sharing or talking politics online or off is bad news. So, I deleted the post.

I’m not going to say this is the first or only time I’ve posted something political on Facebook. Oh, no, I’ve done this one or two other times and also eventually came to my senses and deleted the post. This etiquette consultant is not perfect.

Why do I do it when I know it’s wrong? Because I get caught up in the emotion of the subject, whether that’s excitement or anger. And, then after the emotion has faded my head takes over and reminds me what an imprudent move it is.

I try to remember how I feel when someone posts something political. I sometimes get upset and, if it’s ongoing, it can change my opinion of this person for the worse. I don’t want to be barraged with political messages in my social network, so I remind myself others probably don’t either. In fact, one of my Clise Etiquette Facebook page fans wrote this about political postings, “I had to hide someone today because I just can’t take the posts, jabs and negativity anymore.”

Is it ever OK to post political messages on your social media sites? Yes, if the following conditions apply. 1. You know for a fact that every single one of your Facebook friends shares the same political beliefs you do or they don’t mind political debate. 2. Your privacy settings are set so that only your friends, not even your friends’ friends can see your posts. 4. You don’t regularly and bombastically post political diatribe. 3. You don’t give potential employers your Facebook password.

Or alternatively, forget conditions 1 through 4 if this situation applies: You don’t care if you might lose a friend, a job or a client by posting political statements.

As far as I know I haven’t lost any friends or clients because of my errant ways but, who knows, I might not be aware of it. But, having written this post, and examined why I have posted political posts, I do believe I will never do it again.

How about you? Have you posted political messages online? How do you feel when others post such topics?

Arden Clise, President of Clise Etiquette, is a business etiquette consultant and columnist for the Puget Sound Business Journal. As a speaker and corporate trainer, Arden is an expert in the field of business etiquette. She can be reached at 206-708-1670 or arden@cliseetiquette.com

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Comments

said on August 9th, 2012 07:00 AM

Dave Elvin says:

Thanks for the fleshed-out thinking, Clise, especially the graph on letting emotions settle and rational thinking bubble up. I posted something recently and was not surprised to see many of my Friends agree with the sentiment. What did surprise me was that one person came out strongly against what I wrote, but was civil and articulate in their response. I know it's polite to not post things that are blatantly or even slightly political, but if we don't initiate a discussion on possibly-heated topics, how will we learn to have a civil dialogue? I'm not necessarily out to change people - it's fundamentally impossible - but if people on both sides of an issue can't agree to come to a discussion with a calm head and articulate their position, how will we move forward?

said on August 9th, 2012 07:00 AM

Tolli says:

I believe that it is good to post your views on Facebook. It has become the new "town square" - an excellent place for debate and commentary. If my friends can't handle talking about politics or other important issues they can mute the conversation or mute me altogether and put their head back in the sand. I'm not going to hide my beliefs from the world - I want my beliefs to rub off on people and influence them in the world, we shouldn't hide in a shell - I am who I am by being challenged by others. Somebody once said "You must be the change you wish to see in the world".

said on August 9th, 2012 07:00 AM

Scott Kilbourn says:

I believe that expressing your political opinion is a right in this country. The more we encourage this, the stronger our country and its people will be. Political Correctness is weakness because it encourages cowardice.

said on August 9th, 2012 07:00 AM

Lola Peters says:

If you can't have respectful, civil discourse with your friends in a democracy, who *can* you have it with? How very, very sad that you feel it's safe to write a post discouraging the very dialog that's at the basis of our democracy. I find your post to be indicative of the very deep erosion of civic responsibility, especially by those who benefit most from our democracy. You want to be part of a democratic society, but don't want to do the work it takes to sustain it. How lazy. How very, very sad for you.

said on August 9th, 2012 07:00 AM

Arden Clise says:

Thanks for commenting everyone. I agree civil discourse is important. However, civil discourse depends on willing participants. With Facebook people have not necessarily opted into discourse. Also, like it or not, it will have an impact on how people view you. Maybe you'd don't care if you lose friends over sharing your political views, but what about employers, potential employers or clients? They are checking you out on Facebook and, sadly and wrongly, sometimes if they don't agree with your political views they won't hire you. My experience with my friends who post their political views on FB is it's often very one-sided, very bombastic and not open to discourse. Even with those who I agree with I have found some of the political cartoons and images they have posted very mean spirited and rude. That is not discourse, that is just hurtful. Discourse is good, screaming your opinion without the willingness to engage in civil conversation is not. Sadly, that is usually the case.

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