Social Media Overuse Fuels Political Fights, Mindfulness Reduces Hostility
According to a new research featured Communication Research, the people who use social media excessively are more hostile when it comes to political news. Only the ones who are mindful of their social media usage do not engage themselves in political news and political fights. Users with opposing political views keep on fighting with each other online. With the rise in online political conflicts, the researchers wanted to find out the reasons behind it. Additionally, the researchers also wanted to find out how mindfulness can lead to users being less reactive of political conflicts.
For the research, the researchers conducted a survey of 1,100 US adults in 2021, with 850 participants identifying themselves with a political party. Participants were asked about their problematic news consumption (PNC). Different factors like interference of news in their daily lives, how much they get absorbed in the news and how frequently they watch the news were examined. Their political hostility and having disagreements about politics with their family and friends were also measured.
The findings of the survey showed that there is a clear relationship between problematic news consumption and political hostility. The more people are on social media, the more they are likely to engage in news which leads to problematic political behavior. On the other hand, people who had mindful behaviors were less involved in problematic political behaviors.
Based on this research, another research was conducted in 2022 with 852 US adults. The study was a two-wave survey and the changes in the participants were observed in two-waves. The study also showed how the changes in news consumption affected political hostility. It basically confirmed the results of previous research: mindfulness was the factor which acted as a barrier between political hostility and social media usage.
The lead author of the study said that when people engage in news to the point that they can’t think about anything else, they become hostile towards those who have opposite political views. But we still have no confirmation if there is a direct link between problematic news consumption and political hostility.
Image: DIW-Aigen
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