A new survey shows you're less likely to interact in an online debate if you're worried people won't agree with you (via Pew Research Internet Project). Way back before people even had the ability to click "share" on every single news post they came across, a human behavior concept known as the "spiral of silence" was used to explain why people are less likely to speak up in discussions where their opinion or viewpoint is in the minority.
Even with the added buffer of the Internet, people are less likely to comment on posts when they think their opinion might be considered unpopular. In fact, most people are even less likely to join in a debate online: 46 percent of people say they'd participate in a hotly-debated topic online, versus 86 percent of people who would be willing to do it in person. Pew Research used a pretty divisive topic — Edward Snowden sharing classified info — to study the effect that pretty much causes you to clam up if you think everyone around you will disagree with you. Even though the country is pretty much split on whether Snowden was right or wrong, participants were twice as likely to join a discussion where they felt everyone agreed with them. When you're scrolling through your Facebook feed, you're unconsciously scanning for posts that are going to validate your viewpoints, not challenge them.
People might avoid starting an argument on Facebook for other reasons though. If they don't know much about the topic or if they're apathetic about the argument in the first place, they might not bother posting. Just because someone has an opinion, it doesn't mean it's a strong one. But the next time you find a bunch of people patting each other on the back about a controversial topic, go ahead and challenge their opinion. Just don't expect anyone else to agree with you.
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