Study Finds That One In Five People Cut Ties With Friends Over Online Arguments

Thanks to the relative anonymity of the internet and hiding behind usernames, many people have found the “courage” to insult people online and say things they normally wouldn’t in real life. However it seems that the increasing “ease” of being able to be rude to someone online has inevitably spilled into real life and thanks to a new social media survey, it has been discovered that at least one in five people have reduced face-to-face contact with someone they actually know in real life after having an argument online.

According to Joseph Grenny, the co-chairman of corporate training firm VitalSmarts who ran the survey, 19% of online arguments have led to people blocking, unsubscribing and even “unfriending” someone the other party. Grenny was quoted as saying, “The world has changed and a significant proportion of relationships happen online but manners haven’t caught up with technology.” Admittedly having taken part in several online arguments myself, it is true that people online tend to say things they wouldn’t normally say in real life. We’re not sure if it’s because it’s easier to type it out than to say it out, or because they believe that since the exchanges are made online that they’re safe being any physical violence. What do you guys think? Have you lost any friends over online arguments?

Tyler Lee
Categories: Web
Tags: survey