Social Media our Safety Blanket

 Social Media is moving towards the main means for us to find political information every day. Facebook has opened a multitude of windows for people to discuss their political views. However not everyone wants their Facebook feeds to be overrun by political information. Yet this image makes an extremely clear point that we should be aware of. We may not want to get on Facebook and be bombarded by aggressive political ads and conversations, but this is a decision we can control. When getting on Facebook you have the choice of engaging in political posts or completely ignoring them. Even now you can even block these post from your timeline. Why though do we have such a hate for discussing topics that are important? Social media is becoming a great means for us to use to our advantage to discuss our political views with the safety of not being directly in the same room as the person. Political views do not have to constantly be discussed but they should be shown some respect. Facebook is an open place for us to post and view other peoples opinions and views. Yet we should respect someones political post just as much as we want someone to respect our post about our day or something that we care about.

Even though we complain about political topics being on Facebook, it is among one of the places we are discussing politics. This pie chart of a 2011 pole shows exactly what we are talking about with politics. If we were to compare this to what is discussed as a whole on Facebook, it would be more of a significant percentage then we would imagine. Facebook is a great place to join groups that support our own political views and find political views we support. Yet many of us get angry when we see someone on our timeline that is arguing a political view. Facebook has many windows that have opened to the public, expressing political views is simply one of those windows. However Facebook is not the only social media that is opening windows for people to express their political views. Media sites like Twitter and Second Life have also been creating opportunities to express political views. With all these opportunities arising it is no wonder more and more people are beginning to express their beliefs.

Why though do we prefer to hide behind media when expressing our views? Maybe because it is less confrontational, or maybe it's the fact we can leave the conversation whenever we please. Whatever it is that makes us feel more comfortable with expressing our views, it what we are seeking to help us express them. Although we are becoming more and more expressive, we have yet to make a more active approach in our political views. With social media becoming more prevalent than ever, when will we begin to use it to our advantage as opposed to only a means of expressing ourselves with a safety blanket?