Politics: Don’t Lose Friends Over It

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ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – It may take days, even weeks, before we know who our president will be for the next four years. Will the outcome of the election cause a breakup among your friends? Here are some tips on how not to lose your friends over politics.

The Biden/Trump battle has already caused some heated conversations among friends. Seventy percent of social media users says it’s stressful and frustrating talking politics with people they don’t agree with. And one in five admit a political argument has damaged a friendship. So how can you not let politics get between you and your friends?

First, keep politics away from Facebook. Nearly half of social media adult users feel worn out by political posts and discussions. If you do decide to have a political discussion, challenge different views respectfully. Try to understand their point of view instead of trying to convince them of yours, and if all else fails, agree to disagree.

Another tip: some people believe they are attacking the view someone has, but instead they are attacking the person. In a 2016 survey, one-third of voters saw members of the opposing party as unintelligent.

Sources:

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/19/55-of-u-s-social-media-users-say-they-are-worn-out-by-political-posts-and-discussions/

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0221870

https://www.moneycrashers.com/prevent-political-arguments-family-friends/

Contributor(s) to this news report include: Milvionne Chery, Producer; Bob Walko, Videographer and Editor.

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