Submitted by Redact.dev
If it seems like social media platforms are a hotbed for hatred and hostility, it’s because (at least one) appears to have been designed in this way.
Indeed, a leaked memo from Facebook a couple of years ago stated: “Our algorithms exploit the human brain’s attraction to divisiveness.” This was further followed in October, when a whistleblower explained how the company seeks to sow division between users, which is why those who utilize social media platforms would do well to steer clear of posting contentious topics.
Religion and politics are notoriously divisive topics. And nowadays, when people post controversial viewpoints on social media, they’re more likely to blow up on the internet given that the algorithms are designed to do precisely that.
Moreover, given how divided our nation is politically, a simple post can bait thousands of other users to comment. Redact.dev, a unique software that allows you to scan your social media history and automatically remove any contentious posts, conducted a survey of 5,444 social media users across the U.S. This discovered that almost half (43 percent) of Hoosiers avoid posting about politics on their social media accounts for fear of being ostracized by the online community. It appears women are slightly more concerned about these fears than men.
The survey also discovered that many want their online legacies removed entirely once they’re no longer around to manage their social media profiles. A total of 58 percent of social media users in Indiana think their entire post history should be completely erased in the event of their death. Perhaps this is because more than one in 10 (13 percent) users are concerned about existing social media content posted in the past, that might now be considered contentious.
Some platforms, like Facebook, allow users to appoint a legacy contact, who will have certain rights to the account when the original users die. Google also allows users to plan their post-mortem account management by sharing certain data with a trusted contact via the Inactive Account Manager.
As our knowledge and worldview expands, oftentimes our thoughts and opinions evolve alongside. This may explain why almost half (46 percent) of users say they’ve gone back through their social media history and found their old posts, which are totally different to the opinions they currently hold today. This might also explain why 25 percent say they’ve set their social media accounts to ‘private’ when job hunting.
Lockdowns presented many with an opportunity to complete tasks that may have been of lower priority before the pandemic, but still needed to be done sometime. More than a third (38 percent) of social media users say they used their spare time during the course of the pandemic to clear their accounts of any embarrassing posts.
“If you’re concerned about your social media history bearing a negative effect on your future, such as job prospects or your post-mortem legacy, it could be worthwhile for your own peace of mind to go through your accounts and start afresh,” said a spokesperson from Redact.dev. “This will allow you to alleviate stress about any content you may have posted in the past, which differs from your current thoughts and opinions.”
For more information on the results of the survey, click here.