"Spiral of Silence" or Just Fear of Not Getting Hired?

It's interesting to watch the way peoples' political lives play out on their social media platforms. Among my friends, I've noticed three general approaches. Some friends will put all of their political and social justice beliefs out there to the point where it becomes their online identity. Others (like myself) have chosen to hang back and post very selectively about the political discussions they feel are of the utmost importance. A select few have chosen to go even further and make absolutely no mention of politics on their accounts whatsoever. While the Motherboard article cites that mass surveillance is to blame for peoples' unwillingness to express dissenting opinions online, I think it's also for a simple reason that's more immediate than the threat of mass surveillance: finding a job. 

For years, everyone of a certain generation has heard the same adage about how what you post online could come back to haunt you, particularly when you begin a job search. I know for myself and many others, this alters what gets posted on our public social media accounts drastically. For example, parties, nights out, and any general foolishness is carefully edited out of my feed. Additionally, I hesitate to get overly political for fear of my opinions being seen as too contradictory. I've seen my peers handle this in different ways. Some start "alt accounts" on Twitter and Instagram that are private and for content that would make a human resources representative raise an eyebrow. Some are careful to make sure their real name doesn't appear anywhere on their account. For me, keeping it all in one place is necessary, so I simply watch what I post. 

What I found particularly interesting was how in the Independent article, the author cites a study that found that Facebook and Twitter users were more likely to suppress talking about their beliefs in person as well as online when they felt their viewpoint didn't align with popular opinion. I feel that this goes back to the "content bubbles" we discussed earlier in the semester. We're so used to being validated by what appears in our feeds that we find any type of debate, whether in person or online, to be threatening or not worth our time and we shut down.  

However, not expressing support for an issue can be just as incriminating as expressing a dissenting opinion in the eyes of some. Celebrities routinely come under fire for what they have posted as well as what they haven't. Somewhat recently, Selena Gomez was called out for not tweeting in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and failing to use her platform to spread awareness.                   

It's interesting to see what crosses the line for different people, and what is considered personally acceptable for each platform. With social media, it's crucial that we act as our own editors.