Part of me -- okay, MOST of me -- is thankful that 99% of my FB friends' posts are rational, reasonable, and in alignment with my general beliefs and values. I think the one area where I depart from a significant number of my friends is religion: Although I'm not religious, I have a fair number of devout Christian friends and family, a slightly smaller number of devout Muslim friends, and a sprinkling of devout Jewish friends and friends from other religions. I respect everybody's beliefs and have no problem "liking" the ones that I like. I would never consider getting into arguments with them about their beliefs. In fact I try never to get into online arguments about anything that I wouldn't feel comfortable saying to someone's face.

A small part of me, though, wonders if I'm existing in an echo chamber and if that's a good thing. I'm thinking of one FB friend I have who's the daughter of Syrian Christian immigrants and the only one of her siblings who was born in America -- Texas, to be specific. She gets into these huge discussions/arguments with people who represent every possible negative image of right-wing fanaticism you can think of...and yet somehow she manages to keep her Christianity intact, so to speak. More than once I've said to her, "I don't know how you can stand it," and usually she agrees with me but she keeps on doing it.

Throughout most of my life I've actively courted discussion with people who had opposing views because I believed (and still believe) that that's how you learn: about people, about the world around you, etc. It's only been in the last few years that I've had to step back...and I think it's because it really does seem to be getting harder to have rational, coherent discussions. The concept of "agreeing to disagree" seems to have fallen by the wayside. People don't seem to be interested in understanding others' viewpoints...they just want to be RIGHT. In response I've shut down to some extent...largely for mental self-preservation.

Out of curiosity: Are you able to have rational, coherent discussion with your friends on social media around polarizing subjects (race, religion, politics, sex)? Do you even attempt to have these discussions?