By Hera Rizwan
“I have been told by my friends and family not to post religious and political stuff on social media. You never know who gets picked up next.”
“I prefer posting my political views only for my close friends.”
“I have avoided posting my religious views on social media, fearing it would hamper my personal relationships.”
These are some of the responses Decode received on its survey “Who Are You On The Internet?”. Focusing on young voters aged 18-26, the survey aimed to understand how this demographic shares their religious and political opinions on social media.
While some admitted to have consciously stayed away from posting opinions which could lead to confrontation, others believed that staying silent in the face of polarisation can no longer be an option.
Tanya*, a law student from Chandigarh, told Decode that she refrains from sharing political or religious posts which could be potentially “controversial”. She said, “At times when I do share such opinions, I make sure that they are only restricted to my close friends. However, I know that is also not very healthy, as that creates an echo chamber.”
Tanya said she does not conventionally align herself with a particular religion and is more of a “spiritual” person. “I prefer sharing posts about religious harmony and unity. At least they do not lead to any backlash. However, I do know that some of my friends and acquaintances have muted me on Instagram because of those posts” she said.
She added, “We are living in highly polarised times. I am very much political but I choose not to be expressive either on social media or in person, because that will have a consequence on my personal and professional life.”
Social media, as Tanya said, no longer runs on “let’s agree to disagree”, rather every individual is ready to pick a bone with another. “No doubt we come across so much hateful content and misinformation, targeted towards minorities, while scrolling. I always make it a point to report them,” she said.
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Similarly, Insha, a 23 year old psychology student, also said that she has been “pretty cautious” when it comes to sharing political or religious views on social media. Having experienced backlash, quite early on, for expressing personal beliefs on social media, she said, “There was a time during the CAA NRC protests in 2019 when I posted something that I really believed in, and it led to negative reactions from some friends and acquaintances.”
She added, “I was shocked when a close friend of mine who held a completely different opinion took offense. What started as a discussion quickly turned into a heated argument.”
Insha said she refrains from posting at times but puts out her views when it becomes too personal to ignore. “Then I resort to being loud and clear about my views.”
Anshul, another respondent, also expressed similar feelings of dissatisfaction regarding the difference in opinions between himself and his friends in college. “I have to admit that the people who I am friends with in college either have parents who are either government officials or people well-connected to those who are. So my environment does not allow me to be open with my criticisms,” he said.
Having refrained from posting on social media, Anshul believes that sharing his actual beliefs on social media would affect his friendships, so far as to even lose some of them. “No one would be able to stand direct criticism of their parents, no matter how close a friend is. And these are all people I like, so it’s easier to stay ambivalent.”
Sharing a personal experience, Apoorva, an engineering entrant, said she no longer engages in political debates online because she was once trolled by a former classmate.
“I had commented on J P Nadda's speech and this right-wing supporter from my class began openly insulting me the next day. Fortunately, there weren’t many people who were swayed by it, but it was an uncomfortable experience that I do not wish to relive,” she admitted.
J P Nadda is the national president of the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party from 2020 and the member of the Rajya Sabha representing Gujarat from 2024.
During his four-day tour of Uttarakhand in 2020, Nadda had said that in their "ideological" war, BJP is pursuing the path of nationalism and development. The speech which was made in the aftermath of the Bihar poll verdict, where NDA won, the BJP president had said, "Opposing Modi has led the opposition to oppose the country. People can understand this."
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Decode conducted a survey among 18-26 year-olds, most of them first time voters, to understand how they consume and share information on social media.
Out of the 80 responses received, around 78% believed that sharing religious or political opinions on social media could affect their relationships with friends, family, or colleagues. While over 50% of the respondents did receive backlash for posting their personal opinion, 58% accepted to have consciously refrained from posting much, fearing the ramifications of the same.
Amongst the most used social media platforms, WhatsApp stood out as the most popular one, with 88% of respondents preferring it over others. The messaging platform was closely followed by Instagram (87%). The other platforms LinkedIn (39%), X (29%), Snapchat (27%) and Facebook (25%) don’t have much use for the youngsters, they revealed in the survey.
While a majority of them viewed social media as a “platform for connecting with friends and family”, many only find it to be a “space for entertainment and leisure” or a “tool for sharing opinions and ideas”.
Notably, over 61% consider social media to be a source of “distraction and procrastination”.
Sanya, another respondent who selected “not comfortable with sharing religious views on social media”, is a student at Delhi University. Sanya usually refrains from bringing up politics at dinner table conversations and her social media has her family and their friends on it.
“I am as vocal in college, as I am quiet at home,” she said. When asked what it is that holds her back, she took a moment to think about it. “It’s not that my parents would hurt me for having my own opinions. I think I would be more disappointed to see just how conservative my parents are,” Sanya added.
According to Sanya, her parents have always jokingly warned her against having Muslim partners, or taught her to have separate utensils for house-helps to eat from; so she has always had to keep her opinion under wraps, to avoid conflicts. “I have tried to explain why these things are wrong, and how they’re all connected to politics in today’s India but my efforts have been in vain,” she said.
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“Staying silent not an option”
As per our survey, 42% of respondents said that they continue to share their religious or political opinions on social media despite the potential “backlash or negative consequences” which could come their way.
While 33% were comfortable sharing their religious views, optimally more (43%) were comfortable sharing their political views.
Speaking to Decode, two 18 year olds from Patna, Ifra and Sania, who have recently passed their 12th grade, said that despite facing backlash from fellow students for posting political beliefs that differ from theirs, they persist. They also flag "posts that spread communal hate and political extremism".
Ifra said, “I have had circumstances where my political opinions hindered a personal relationship, but I still don’t believe in refraining from sharing my opinions because staying apolitical or being a silent spectator in such times amounts to taking the wrong side.”
Similarly, Sania too believed that sharing opinions on social media is a personal choice, though it may come with repercussions. She said, “I have faced backlash for sharing my political opinion on the internet, and did refrain from sharing my political ideology in the past fearing it might affect my relationship with classmates, but now I feel comfortable doing the same.”
I have always reported posts that spread communal hate or misinformation, she added.
Both of them made their social media accounts when they were 14-15 years old, but started posting regularly in the past few years.
Sakshi, a law student in her fourth year, also believed that “only open dialogue and calling people in powerful positions out can help bring justice”. She has been regular with posting about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
She has also had some content that she shared be flagged and deleted as “violating community guidelines” on Instagram. “So far I have limited my social media dialogue to international conflicts, and not so much what’s happening within the country. But it’s something,” Sakshi added.
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