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Poll: Controversial status updates of Facebook

Cricket

By Cricket,
in General Education Discussion Board

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Do you respond when a friend posts something controversial as their Facebook status?  

  1. 1. Do you respond when a friend posts something controversial as their Facebook status?

    • No, it doesn't bother me
      65
    • No, but I hide the post and fume about it for awhile
      27
    • Yes, but I don't get too carried away
      25
    • Yes, I love a great debate and might post controversial something myself to stir things up
      11
    • Other ('cause there has to be an other!)
      32

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iamrachelle

iamrachelle

Posted
Posted

Without trying to sound snarky, I've got better things to do, worry, obsess about (choose one) than to over analyze someone else's facebook status.

 

If the post really interested me I think it would be something that would be fun to debate, but I would never unfriend anyone just because I disagreed with their status.

 

I don't think I have too many friends that wouldn't be open to a fun discussion on opposing views either, so that makes it easy.;)

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ThatCyndiGirl

ThatCyndiGirl

Posted
Posted

It depends....

 

I had someone post something horribly homophobic on my wall, not knowing that my daughter is gay. Their friendship was deleted immediately. (it was actually THREE PEOPLE and they are relatives....NICE.)

 

People are allowed to disagree with me, that is fine, but to post something hateful because you are homophobic, racist, xenophobic? NO and it will get you unfriended.

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dangermom

dangermom

Posted
Posted

Eh, I don't care. Unless it's something about SoF's! :D

 

In addition, 11 years of being a librarian have pretty much inured me to any inflammatory statements whatsoever. No matter how crazy it is, my reaction is to smile nicely and stay quiet, or if I'm at work, to smile nicely and try to find more information on the subject for you. I can no longer work up any outrage over anything much--the world is full of people with awful opinions or who think I have awful opinions, and I just don't care any more.

 

Though if anyone posted anything actively hateful, I'd unfriend them. That's never happened to me on FB.

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TN Mama

TN Mama

Posted
Posted

I haven't read the responses or voted yet in the poll, but I've handled this a few different ways. One person who is more of a family friend often posts things that are hurtful. Not just his political/religious views, but things that (imo) degrade. I would get ANGRY reading his status updates and finally came to the conclusion that it wasn't going to get better and so he is now hidden. I never see his status updates anymore.

 

I have several friends with different views than I have and I'm totally okay with that. But if every status update is controversial, I'm either going to hide or unfriend. I don't like to stir things up, so it'd take a lot to unfriend someone.

 

If someone posts an untruth, I sometimes will correct. And sometimes I decide it's not worth it. :)

 

I guess I'd have to say, ignoring is probably best.

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OLG

OLG

Posted
Posted

Let it roll off. So many of my FB friends are the polar opposite of me politically that I know whatever they post isn't going to be something I completly agree with. However, I do enjoy seeing how the minds work and the reactions. Very revealing.

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BigMamaBird

BigMamaBird

Posted
Posted

I chose "No, but I hide them for a while." There are many, many, many FB friends that I have that I don't agree with on several things. But most of the time, when they post something controversial, it doesn't bother me at all. However, I have a few "friends" who are just so over the top, aggressive and in your face that I've deleted them completely.

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AuntieM

AuntieM

Posted
Posted

Depends. I don't mind a bit if those involved are well informed and their points are well stated. I can choose to engage, or not.

 

I do not like it when the status updates are merely emotional outbursts about some political nature. But even there, I can use the hide feature. FWIW, my fb news feed display is.... well, highly managed.

 

What I find much worse are the virtual PDAs between spouses and partners. Please, keep that stuff at home! Also, some adults I know seem to forget they have young teens on their friend list.

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Krista in LA

Krista in LA

Posted
Posted

I put other as it depends who it is. A friend from high school recently posted a little thing about how teachers are underpaid - at a mere $3/hour/child, they should make over $100k. I couldn't help but make a comment about it sounding like new math to me. :lol: She didn't find it so funny and deleted her post. I really try to be careful about who it is, but sometimes, I just can't help myself.

 

I did have to start hiding posts from my dh's uncle as he would try to argue politics but his arguments weren't logical. You can't argue with someone like that.

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In2why

In2why

Posted
Posted

If it something I care about, feel is worth discussing, or have questions about I post. If not, I ignore.

 

As our social circle's explode we are going to know and "friend" people who are different then ourselves. There is family, close friends, friends of convenience, and people we might only know fleetingly. I am myself on Facebook and in real life. At some point I am sure to offend someone. I don't post to flame a fire....or fan it, but it happens. Sometimes I post something that I think one group will find interesting, yet knowing that the other group might not. For example there have been some interesting posts about what is happening in Wisconsin right now, it is a sure bet that people have strong feelings one way or another, but as long as people can keep the focus on the issue and not personally attack, it can be interesting.

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TN Mama

TN Mama

Posted
Posted
Depends. I don't mind a bit if those involved are well informed and their points are well stated. I can choose to engage, or not.

 

I do not like it when the status updates are merely emotional outbursts about some political nature. But even there, I can use the hide feature. FWIW, my fb news feed display is.... well, highly managed.

 

What I find much worse are the virtual PDAs between spouses and partners. Please, keep that stuff at home! Also, some adults I know seem to forget they have young teens on their friend list.

 

I have some young people as my friends, but I don't give them access to my wall.

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kchara

kchara

Posted
Posted

I voted "other" because it depends on my mood. Most of the time, I love a good debate, as long as it stays as a debate, and doesn't turn into a bunch of personal attacks on one person. Sometimes, I'm just not in the mood, so I simply ignore them. Unless they're REALLY bad, I don't bother to hid them. They usually get lost on my news feed anyway.

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Hwin

Hwin

Posted
Posted

I hide and fume about comments where "Are the [political party or group] all [bleep]ing idiots? How can they believe [core belief of political party or group]?? [Huge problem] is all because of them!" Mostly if they are calling people who support what I support "idiots" but, to be honest, I cringe a bit when I see any group being ripped apart.

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Alenee

Alenee

Posted
Posted

I answered 'other' because it depends on the post. I typically ignore them but recently a friend who I've mentored was posting some links that were false/lies. I did post a response to be careful what you read on the internet. It surprises me still, how someone can read something on the 'net and think it must be true. :001_huh: As for debating...nahhh. Facebook isn't the place.

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Annie

Annie

Posted
Posted

I voted other. I usually don't respond, but it does irk me sometimes. I'm from Wisconsin, so my news feed is FULL of union/budget stuff, and it's getting old. Most of my friends are of the opposite political persuasion, and we're all firm in our beliefs. Nothing any of us say in a FB comment is going to change the other person's mind.

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katemary63

katemary63

Posted
Posted

I usually don't post too much controvercial stuff, but every once in a while, I will if it's something I really believe in and it's in the news or what ever. I also have friends who do the same. I may comment back if I disagree but never anything argumentative and if the OP comments back, I won't get into a debate. Not on facebook. So, I'm middle of the road. I try to keep it light, might make a comment or two, might post a controvercial topic or two but no full blow depates and certainly no nastiness. But what others post doesn't upset me. I already know their leanings and I love them anyway.

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kiana

kiana

Posted
Posted

Mostly, I ignore other people's updates if I disagree with them. I blocked someone because she never got tired of posting every single conspiracy theory that came along, and it just annoyed me. (I think it annoyed me mostly because most of what she posted was flat-out mathematically and statistically incorrect.)

 

However, I will delete posts on MY wall with which I strongly disagree. You have your own space! Don't fill MY space with your rants! :D

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theYoungerMrsWarde

theYoungerMrsWarde

Posted
Posted

I picked "other" as in "all of the above!" Some I just roll my eyes and sigh, some I think "Its NOT WORTH IT" and then occupy myself on something else, and sometimes I end up writing essays of indignation. The other day one of my "friends" said that people should have to take an IQ test to be allowed to raise their kids or else have them be taken away, and I kinda lost it when she had a bunch of people agreeing, and not ONE person disagree.

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Cricket

Cricket

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I picked "other" as in "all of the above!" Some I just roll my eyes and sigh, some I think "Its NOT WORTH IT" and then occupy myself on something else, and sometimes I end up writing essays of indignation. The other day one of my "friends" said that people should have to take an IQ test to be allowed to raise their kids or else have them be taken away, and I kinda lost it when she had a bunch of people agreeing, and not ONE person disagree.

 

That gets me too! I finally hid one friend completely. He was one of my brother's closest friends growing up and we all went to the same Christian college. Now his beliefs are the polar opposite of how we all were raised. He takes delight in posting nasty comments about people who still believe like we were raised. Obviously, he is a genius and we are brain-washed morons. :glare: Whenever he posts something, there are a couple of guys we knew from the same college who chime in only to agree. They are geniuses, too, apparently. I had to hide him because it was way too aggravating! It does irk me when post after post is only people agreeing. Then I feel like I should say something. :) I can handle the occasional political/religious/whatever post but not all the time! I love that Hide button! This one today though....yuck! It wasn't someone I would expect and it was one of my hot button issues. :lol:

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Rosy

Rosy

Posted
Posted

I think of the 500+ friends I have on FB, I have one who believes differently than I do and can engage in a meaningful discussion about it. Usually I just keep scrolling. The inflammatory political posts irritate me, but whatever.

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Sebastian (a lady)

Sebastian (a lady)

Posted
Posted
When one of your "friends" post something controversial (usually political these days), do you respond?

 

ETA: Right now I'm in "hide the post and fume for awhile mode".

 

Depends on how well I know them.

 

If they are a good friend who I know has the sense of humor and resilience to handle disagreement, then I engage.

 

Sometimes I hide them for a while so that I don't fume too much

 

There were a few people last year presumptious gleeful updates on political topics that helped me realize that they were really acquaintances, not friends. I unfriended a couple of them.

 

When it's family, I tend to roll my eyes. I usually don't engage them. I've also been known to exclude certain family members from updates that I know will stir the pot.

 

I did notice this morning that you can now hide individual posts rather than having to hide everything from a person.

 

I've also taken advantage of the block person feature on a couple news/opinion sites that were attracting trolls. With the block on, I don't see the nutso comments that they were making. (I don't think someone's free speech rights mean that they have to have free access to my FB feed.)

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arghmatey

arghmatey

Posted
Posted

Other.

 

No. I have a rule not to fight with others on their FB pages.

 

IF someone writes something I find annoying as a response to one of *my* updates, I delete it, no explanation given.

 

It's my page, my narcissism, my need to broadcast my life--I don't want people contributing unless it's in a positive way that leads to a smile on my face.

 

One thing I do--and yes, it is obnoxious!--is if a friend posts a photo of something dangerous, such as using a child product in an unsafe way, I will sometimes make a mental note and post something another day such as, "Car seats are so complicated! I hope everyone remembers the chest clip is supposed to be at x level and not at belly button level!"

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snipsnsnailsx5

snipsnsnailsx5

Posted
Posted

Other ;)

 

No and Yes....

 

No I don't always post on controversial status updates. Sometimes I know its just a losing argument and my comment won't help any. Sometimes I just really don't want to get into it with a friend. Sometimes I just know its too hot of a topic with me and I should stay away...

 

But sometimes, I just can't "sit on my fingers" and I have to say something. Usually in the case of someone who's not THAT close of a friend, especially if I only know them via the internet and don't have to face them in real life. lol

Or if it is a real life friend, I find a very nice and PC way of saying what I want to say. ;)

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Peela

Peela

Posted
Posted

Usually the only person to post stuff I might want to get in a huff over is my dh, and I have learned it is best not to engage, especially not on FB.

No one else really bothers me that much- mostly I find FB a great place for sharing great links and You Tubes and I find I have similar tastes to most of my FB friends, or am exposed to information I dont mind being exposed to, even if I might not agree.

On the other hand, I am quite fussy about who I befriend on FB, so maybe that accounts for the like minded thing.

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