An average Internet user sees social media as a venue for sharing thoughts and ideas with their social friends. When it comes to important issues such as the revelations made by Edward Snowden on government spying, users tend to either evade the discussion or choose their words carefully to avoid some possible repercussions.
These findings were revealed after Pew Research Center conducted a survey involving 1,801 adults. The survey focused on a single public issue wherein the participants were asked to give their opinion on the Edward Snowden's whistleblowing case. It also tried to find out how the participants were willing to talk about Snowden's revelations in several in-person and online media venues. Lastly, the survey wanted to know how the participants perceive other people's views both in an online and offline context.
The result of the survey revealed that 86 percent said they would be willing to engage in an offline discussion about the case of Snowden. Forty-two percent of Twitter and Facebook users admitted that they would not hesitate in posting their opinion online.
The higher percentage of social media users who decide to keep an opinion to themselves is best explained in a concept dubbed as the "spiral of silence." The term, which was coined in the mid-seventies, states that people have the tendency to keep their own opinion when they believe that it is unpopular or different from the opinion of other people.
"Some social media creators and supporters have hoped that social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter might produce different enough discussion venues that those with minority views might feel freer to express their opinions, thus broadening public discourse and adding new perspectives to everyday discussion of political issues," says Pew.
The "spiral of silence" among social media users tend to continue in an offline setting. Half of Facebook users showed little tendency to discuss the Snowden case in a restaurant or other public places. A quarter of Twitter users said that they would most likely engage in the discussion of the topic in the workplace.
"One possible explanation is that social media users are more aware of the diversity of opinions around them - especially on an issue where there is divided opinion," says Lee Rainie, director at the Pew Research Center in the field of Internet science and technology research.
Social media users have adjusted the way they participate in a discussion as a result of increased awareness on social and political issues. They understand that in order to survive in their social media world, one must be generous or at least trained to react to a post by giving it a "like" or by making a tweet as a favorite. In other words, if their opinion is way too different from other people, they would rather keep their silence.
