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Facebook may be making people more polarised: Study

New Delhi: Social networking sites like Facebook may boost our political leanings and cause us to ignore friends we don't agree with, according to a new study.The study by Georgia Institute of Technology suggests that

PTI Published : Feb 01, 2014 20:35 IST, Updated : Feb 01, 2014 20:36 IST
According to the study, Facebook's algorithms don't help the cause. Newsfeeds are filled with the friends a person most often interacts with, typically those with strong ties, researchers said.

Grevet suggests that the social media site should sprinkle in a few status updates on both sides of political issues. That would expose people to different opinions, which are typically held by weak ties.

"Designing social media towards nudging users to strengthen relationships with weak ties with different viewpoints could have beneficial consequences for the platform, users and society," said Grevet.

The study surveyed more than 100 politically active Facebook users in the spring of 2013 amid debates about budgets cuts, gay marriage and gun control regulations.

The majority of participants were liberal, female and under the age of 40, mirroring the traditional Facebook user.

More than 70 percent said they don't talk about politics with their friends with different opinions. When they saw something they didn't agree with, 60 percent said they ignored it and didn't comment.

When they did, sometimes it made the person question the relationship and disassociate and from the friend.
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