Social media may be fuelling your anger


Stop the presses: the more time you spend on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, the angrier you may be, a new poll suggests.

That’s the finding of Pollara Strategic Insights latest “rage index” poll, a monthly survey tracking Canadians’ views about government, the economy, and current events.

Nearly two-thirds of people — 63 per cent — who spend more than 10 hours a week on social media said they were “angry” about the economy. That compares to 52 per cent of other respondents who don’t spend as much time on social media.

“We can’t say if it’s social media that’s making them angry or if people who are predisposed to being angry are drawn to social media,” said Dan Arnold, Pollara’s chief strategy officer.

Pollara surveyed 3,002 people across the country using an online panel from Feb. 19 to March 2.

Online panels, which are opt-in, cannot be assigned a margin of error, but for comparison purposes, a random sample of this size would have one of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The firm found 35 per cent of Canadians have quit a social media site “because they found the tone too angry and toxic.”

About half — 49 per cent — of women aged 18 to 34 had stopped using a social media platform because of that.

That compared with 44 per cent of women aged 35 to 49, 25 per cent of those aged 50 to 64, and 24 per cent aged 65 and up.

In contrast, 42 per cent of men aged 18 to 34 had stopped using a social media app due to its toxic or angry tone.

Similarly, 41 per cent of men aged 35 to 49 did so while 31 per cent of those aged 50 to 64, and 23 per cent aged 65 and up gave up on a platform.

Overall, 17 per cent of those surveyed said they had quit Facebook due to “the angry/toxic tone” while 12 per cent stepped back from Twitter, eight per cent from Instagram, six per cent from TikTok, four per cent from Snapchat, three per cent from Reddit, two per cent from YouTube, and one per cent apiece from LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Discord.

Arnold noted the poll found Facebook and Twitter generated the most anger of all the platforms.

“Facebook and Twitter definitely seem to be the ones that bring out the strongest feelings and provoke the most hostility,” he said.

Indeed, 21 per cent of Twitter users said they felt “annoyed or angry” whenever they were on the site compared with 32 per cent who felt “pleased or happy” with 47 per cent neutral.

On Facebook, 16 per cent of users felt annoyed while 35 per cent were happy with 49 per cent neutral.

For Instagram, it was seven per cent annoyed, 44 per cent neutral, and 49 per cent happy.

For TikTok, it was nine per cent annoyed, 44 per cent neutral, and 59 per cent happy.

But Pinterest appeared to be the most positive social media site with just two per cent of users saying they were annoyed while on it while 71 per cent were happy and 27 per cent were neutral.

Robert Benzie is the Star’s Queen’s Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie

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