Dividing social networks
Facebook unfriending, unfollowing, and blocking in turbulent political times
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12977913 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Olga Baysha (0000-0001-9135-9665, National Research University Higher School of Economics, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 104-120 |
| Publication date | 2020-05-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Russian Journal of Communication (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1940-9427 • E-ISSN: 1940-9419 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/19409419.2020.1773911 |
| OpenAlex | W3034269134 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 26 |
It has been argued that by allowing users to unfriend, unfollow, and block political and cultural ‘others,’ Facebook facilitates the discouragement of dialog between those holding different views on political issues. Using a case study of a civil confrontation in Ukraine, the paper analyzes the reasons for unfriending political ‘others’ reported by 699 respondents of a qualitative survey. Its findings are in line with researchers who have also found that the likelihood of selective avoidance is higher among people who are more politically active, emotionally involved, and who have more online friends. The paper also discusses an interesting discovery that has not been previously considered. The respondents often shunned political ‘others’ out of suspicion that they were trolls. As this paper suggests, whether real or imagined, trolling has turned out to be a real force influencing people’s decisions to withdraw from communication on the most important issues of public life
Blocking (statistics · Dialog box · Internet privacy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Sociology · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology
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Generalised scepticism
“I Don't Like You Any More”
The theory of communicative action
The “unfriending” problem
Pruning the news feed
Culture in mediated interaction
The mythologies of capitalism and the end of the Soviet project
Synecdoche that kills
In the name of national security
Dehumanizing political others
Birds of a Feather Tweet Together
Culture and Politics in the Information Age
A Qualitative Survey of the Attitudes of Catholic Priests Toward Bishops and Ministry Following the Sexual Abuse Revelations of 2002
Critical Theory and Methodology
The Maidan and Beyond
Sources of the self
I Shield Myself From Thee
Bringing Discourse Theory into Media Studies
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| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,4 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2025 (5) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |