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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

am I being a dick on facebook?

58 replies

WhosLookingAfterCourtney · 07/07/2014 07:50

I follow a couple of left wing pages, and a couple of feminist pages on Facebook.

If I agree with something, I usually click 'like', occasionally I might share something if I think it's important or interesting.

It seems I'm getting a reputation as 'very political on Facebook' and now I feel like a dick.

I suppose my defence would be that I see an awful lot of right wing and anti feminist stuff on my newsfeed and I wish to counter this.

Or am I just being a dick?

OP posts:
FunkyBoldRibena · 07/07/2014 07:52

What is wrong with being very political? What sort of stuff isn't political these days?

FunkyBoldRibena · 07/07/2014 07:52

And if you see right wing and anti feminist stuff, bin whoever is posting it.

puntasticusername · 07/07/2014 07:54

YANBU. You can do whatever you want on your own fb, it's yours. No one has to see it who doesn't want to...

I'd rather see the things you describe than another eight million cat photos/"hilarious" videos/phony virus warnings etc...

grobagsforever · 07/07/2014 07:54

Way better than endless photos of your dinner!

CuttedUpPear · 07/07/2014 07:56

Good for you OP. Most of the posts I see on FB are left wing or feminist - a lot of the feminist ones coming from male friends.

Keep doing it - maybe you will change some of those right wing thinkers.

Original poster
WhosLookingAfterCourtney · 07/07/2014 07:56

:) feeling like less of a dick so far.

OP posts:
QuintessentiallyQS · 07/07/2014 07:56

Well if you get annoyed seeing strong opinions you don't agree with on your news feed, then you know what others think about you sharing your stance this way.

Just unfollow the right wing anti feminist people and your news feed will improve!

No reason to alienate people because of unpleasant elemts on YOUR feed?

mumtosome61 · 07/07/2014 07:57

Nothing wrong with being very political in my eyes - I certainly wouldn't consider you a dick - I'm left wing/feminist in my views so I'd probably join you Grin.

If you were screaming it from your statuses and posting tirades on walls I could understand using the unfollow button but liking pages is a good way of spreading the word and showing people alternate views.

It's your Facebook - you use it however you like.

BuggerLumpsAnnoyed · 07/07/2014 07:57

No, you are not being a "dick". I do exactly the same for similiar reasons. Especially during elections as people seemed to not really have all the facts about groups such as UKIP and britain first.

JustAShopGirl · 07/07/2014 07:59

I wouldn't - but then my employer looks at my feed from time to time. (so I have a boring page with lots of private groups)

ElleMcFearsome · 07/07/2014 07:59

I'd take 'getting a reputation as political' as a compliment! Grin

captainproton · 07/07/2014 08:02

I think it depends what you are liking/sharing. Not everyone I'm friends with has the same political beliefs as me. So I wouldn't want to like/share something that would upset them. I.e. Only heartless people vote tory, or something.

I see some posts like that and those people are a bit of a Dick. I have also unfriended a few people who post stuff like that/in reverse.

JennyOnTheBlocks · 07/07/2014 08:02

I love the 'serious' side of fb, you get to hear so much more about current affairs than if you relied on main news outlets (50000 people march against austerity, anyone? ) and read some brilliant feminist pages.

I also take pictures of my dinner and lol at cats.

That's what I do in RL too, it's meant to be an extension of yourself, isn't it?

Sandthorn · 07/07/2014 08:02

I thought you were going to confess to doing the "Nobody loves me..." kind of statuses. Political is fine.

Branleuse · 07/07/2014 08:10

I dont see the problem with being seen as political. Are some of your friends threatened by you having political opinions?

Minesril · 07/07/2014 08:14

Haha my fb comprises of two topics: left wing articles and pictures of my guinea pig. So I guess I come across as a left wing animal loving hippy? Which is fair enough actually.

Wishfulmakeupping · 07/07/2014 08:17

So what if it does its your page OP 'like' whatever you choose. I'm one of those people who posts millions of baby pictures (my dd is ridiculously beautiful) and I like a lots to do with EBF and baby led weaning etc if people don't like it they can unfriend me :)

Original poster
WhosLookingAfterCourtney · 07/07/2014 08:23

Mumtosome61 - definitely no rants or tirades, promise!

OP posts:
unrealhousewife · 07/07/2014 08:23

I rarely get rubbishy things on newsfeed but noticed it's very quiet these days. Most of my friends are the political ones so I think with the new settings options people are getting polarised and segregated again.

People seem to get everything off their chest on twitter these days, but I think twitter is too much blurt-and-run. At least you hear the odd few responses on Facebook.

gamerchick · 07/07/2014 08:24

Well its your Facebook so do what you want. I don't care about topics I gets annoying when it's the same topic over and over.. If you say post over and over with anything to do with gay marriage for eg then after about 6 months I will hide your arse as I would do with any other topic that's banged on about over and over again.

Keeping it varied is better.. but again it's your Facebook, people can delete you if it's bugging them that much.

FunkyFlanFlinger · 07/07/2014 08:28

My FB friends can post what they like, I don't agree or like 100% of it but I find it really interesting to see everyone's differing opinions. Although as much as I don't mind people posting their political beliefs, but I am very wary of clicking "like" as you don't really know who is behind the FB page.

This morning, for example, there is outrage on my newsfeed about Mel B apparently blocking a disabled toilet for nearly an hour. No one cares a jot who she is in there with with, but there is outrage that she blocked the toilet for disabled users...

FFF

milkwagon · 07/07/2014 08:28

No you're not. Your FB, your rules. If others feel threatened by this, their problem. I think it's great fwiw - it's not as if you're putting anything controversial/offensive or distasteful out there. I have a picture on my desk at (male dominated management) work of a 'princess' slaying a dragon and the 'knight in shining armour' redundant on his horse whinging about 'damn feminists'. Sometimes I think it's made me a bit unapproachable but then I think stuff it, people have to take me as they find me!xGrin

DeleteTheAdjectives · 07/07/2014 08:28

It's your Facebook you can use it how you like. However, you say you don't like the right-wing posts from your friends, so unfriend/hide them. Similarly, if others don't like what you post, they can do the same to you.

Personally, if you were my friend on Facebook, it would depend how often you share. I prefer to use Facebook for keeping in touch so I like info/photos of what people have been up to (not their dinner but maybe that they've been on a day out somewhere interesting). I was friends with one person who likes/shares something 5-6 times a day and it was bloody annoying having my whole wall filled with it. On the other hand I have a friend who posts/shares something political once every 2-3 weeks, so it's usually something genuinely interesting that hasn't been covered on mainstream news, and it's great.

UncleT · 07/07/2014 08:58

As long as you're not peddling vacuous, facile, unoriginal cereal-box 'wisdom' as about fifty percent of people seem to on there, fill your boots.

ChelsyHandy · 07/07/2014 09:37

If you're only liking it, how noticeable is it on your FB feed? Surely you have to comment and share stuff to make it noticeable and "gain a reputation for being political"?

Anyway, nothing wrong with having political opinions. Or opinions on anything. Too many people are too bland or too afraid to say what they really think. I do find a lot of the left wing stuff very prescriptive and dumbed down and therefore quite tedious, so if you were sharing a lot of that, I would probably find you quite boring and maybe think you were a bit thick/low achieving. But that would just be an opinion too.