Starting at 11:00 pm on election night, there are now over 250,000 Tweets about people unfriending, unfollowing, or otherwise having it out online over the election results.
This, I’m sure, extends to Facebook and other social media, as well. It is impossible to know exactly how many people may have lost a friend or follower because of the election, but the number is bound to be astronomically high.
As you can see, people had very little to say that was positive, as is clear by the 93% negative sentiment online.
The vast majority are made up of people advising their followers to unfriend them immediately, based on their political views:
https://twitter.com/romero/status/796219874519502848
Somebody on my Facebook just made it so easy for me to delete them. Started off a post with "First off, I don't care that Trump is winning"
— the purpose of a system is what it does (@PushaStee) November 9, 2016
https://twitter.com/naveenchristian/status/796232357309251584
If you voted for Trump, unfollow me. If you voted 3rd party in a swing state, unfollow me twice. #ElectionNight
— Cammien Ray (@CammienRay) November 9, 2016
https://twitter.com/buterastana/status/796406983301668864
A few people took a more placating view, calling it “petty.”
https://twitter.com/kelsiembowden/status/796438301896867840
https://twitter.com/angieroig/status/796426613856538625
seeing a lot of "if you voted for trump, unfriend me" statuses
I can't help but feel that it's just worsening the divide. I know we're angry— dodie is a hot mess (@doddleoddle) November 9, 2016
https://twitter.com/LAlexa_/status/796435555873652742
Instead of telling people to unfollow you because they support someone you don't, respect their views instead or don't discuss them. https://t.co/JOBdAz7HM9
— KioHasMoved (@KioTheBat2) November 9, 2016
Whichever side of the coin you fall on, it’s clear that social media behaviors have an impact in the “real” world. Maybe you will choose to share your political views as a form of self-expression. Maybe what you post could influence or educate others about important topics.
Social media is an important gathering place for millennials, and their chatter today shows clearly that a majority of them did not support Donald Trump in his quest for the presidency.
In fact, this article states that, had millennials been the only ones to vote, Hillary Clinton would have taken the electoral college, as is clear from this image in the article:
It’s clear, then, that millennials online are unhappy with the election results and are not afraid to show it in a way that is perhaps unique to their generation — online engagement.
So if sharing your beliefs online is your overall go, by all means, go ahead. If keeping your followers is more important, you may want to watch what you post.
