Facebook Usage and Outgroup Intolerance in Myanmar

Abstract

Are social media users in developing and conflict-affected countries more intolerant than non-users? As platforms like Facebook become increasingly viewed as drivers of polarization and violence, this question is critical to understanding social media’s potential role in stoking and perpetuating intergroup conflict. We explore this question using unique survey data that istinguishes between Facebook users and non-users in a conflict-affected, yet understudied context. Myanmar has been cited as a cautionary example of social media’s toxic environment and deleterious effects. But arguments that highlight Facebook’s connections to malicious actors or instances of localized violence often implicitly assume a disproportionately toxic online community with the capacity to negatively influence intergroup attitudes. Challenging this assumption, we find that Facebook users are significantly more tolerant of other religions and ethnicities on average than non-users, even controlling for relevant demographic covariates. We suggest that these findings are largely the product of selection and that Facebook’s power to dramatically reshape public attitudes may be relatively limited. We argue that the findings should influence how we evaluate claims about Facebook’s contribution to high levels of ethnic and religious intolerance in Myanmar and other diverse societies.