A new study links partisan activity on the Internet to widespread online toxicity, revealing that politically-engaged users exhibit uncivil behavior even in non-political discussions. The findings are based on an analysis of hundreds of millions of comments from over 6.3 million Reddit users.

Politically-engaged Redditors tend to be more toxic – even in non-political subreddits::A new study links partisan activity on the Internet to widespread online toxicity, revealing that politically-engaged users exhibit uncivil behavior even in non-political discussions. The findings are based on an analysis of hundreds of millions of comments from over 6.3 million Reddit users.

  • Boozilla@lemmy.worldEnglish
    106·
    11 months ago

    I think most people have a friend or relative like this. They simply must bring their political views into every single conversation, all of the time. If you try to deflect or even outright tell them you don’t want to discuss politics, they will invariably say something like “but everything is political”. It’s exhausting. Then they wonder why they stop getting invited to things.

      • Boozilla@lemmy.worldEnglish
        93·
        11 months ago

        Not wanting to discuss politics 24x7 in all contexts and settings is not “apathy”. I vote. I participate. I donate money. I discuss politics at appropriate times and places.

        Wanting to dominate all conversations with your political opinion is pathological.

        • work is slow@lemmy.worldEnglish
          32·
          11 months ago

          It was meant to be a self depreciating joke, but now I can’t help myself. I think this topic ends up having everybody involved make a bunch of assumptions about each other before it begins.

          However, I have experienced people say that they, “don’t want to get political,” right after being confronted for saying something misinformed, hurtful, etc. It can be weaponized as an excuse to avoid self reflection.

          I know that isn’t the case for everybody, but I have seen, “don’t make things political,” used as, “don’t bring in politics at odds with my own.” It’s often not even recognized by that person as being hypocritical. Sometimes our own politics can become the default in our mind and everybody else’s view is the “political” one.

          • Boozilla@lemmy.worldEnglish
            2·
            11 months ago

            Apologies for missing the joke. And I agree that it can be a dodge in some contexts, too. Also agree that the word can be used incorrectly.

            People who use “political” incorrectly like that remind me of the old South Park depiction of Michael Jackson, calling everything “ignorant”.

      • Boozilla@lemmy.worldEnglish
        7·
        11 months ago

        Yes, this is missing the point. I’m not saying politics should never be discussed. I’m not saying politics and personal lives exist in separate spheres. I understand that things like economic policies and laws impact individuals’ lives in profound ways.

        I’m saying people who bring it up constantly and never give it a rest are obnoxious.