Politics in Social Networks
http://www.journalism.org/2014/10/21/political-polarization-media-habits/
With a polarizing election season in full swing, a potentially poisonous dynamic has once again been introduced to friendships: politics. The days of political opinions being a purely private topic have long since past. With many individuals holding the ability to reach hundreds if not thousands of other people via platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, unsurprisingly some of the opinions expressed will not be ones everyone agrees with. But removing and cutting ties with friends over political disagreement? For politically minded people more than their indifferent peers, this has been shown to be more and more commonplace.
When considering political leaning and the actions people take because of it in social networks, previously balanced connections suddenly seem far more volatile. While politically like-minded people will have no problem sticking together and disliking those of the opposite opinion, those with less strong views may find such factionalization among their friend group disquieting. While the results of the election won’t be known for some months now, one conclusion is certain: election season is bad news for social networks.