Facebook causes friends to fight

"I honestly have to say I was surprised at how universal the problem of Facebook fighting seems to be. I thought that because I regularly cross deeply divided lines, my friends were somewhat unique. But apparently Facebook magnifies human nature, and it’s our nature to feel strongly about certain topics and disagree with those who don’t share our feelings."

That observation comes from ZDNet Government blogger David Gewirtz,who reports that an online survey he conducted in which 62 percent of respondents said Facebook caused fights among friends. Twenty percent said it did not, while 18 percent sarcastically answered, "I don't have any friends."

Taking the comments left behind by poll takers, Gewirtz wrote that, "Reader “macadam” reports “It happens all the time.” Regular gadfly reader “Ron Burgundy” reports, “Yep [they fight] and nothing makes me happier than to out an idiot liberal in a discussion.” Reader “walterth3rd” talks about how a simple Facebook article posting caused him to lose a friend.

"Still, other readers, like reader “Real Life” contend, “No, LIFE causes friends to fight.” Reader “Duncan651″ says the problem is really, “the lack of respect for another person”. Reader “edkollin” tosses the problem right back in our hands here on ZDNet claiming, “ZDNet articles/commentary cause friends to fight.”

"My colleague Charles Cooper, over on CBSNews.com, agrees. Charles writes, “I can sympathize. Same thing has happened to yours truly as well as to friends of mine.”

So be careful what you post on Facebook, or someone who doesn't understand what you really meant might take it the wrong way, and you'll have a Facebook fight on your hands too!