Is Posting on Social Media an Exercise in Futility?

I’ve often thought posting on social media is pointless. I doubt I’ve ever changed anyone’s mind and suspect I never will. But I came across some information that leads me to believe I might be wrong.

Pew Research did a study in July 2020 and what they found surprised me. 23% of social media users polled say they changed their views because of a social media post. Also interesting, this was true of 25% of Democrats / left-leaning and 21% of Republicans / right-leaning. The partisan difference is not as great as I would have thought. The tendency to change your mind did vary quite a bit by age group though:
  • 34% changed their views between the ages of 18 – 29
  • 23% changed their views between the ages of 30 – 49
  • 20% changed their views between the ages of 50 – 64
  • 13% changed their views 65+
My age group (the last one) seems pretty darn set in their ways!

The report gave me a teeny bit of hope that not all attempts to declare my thoughts are futile.

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