Discussing face to face?

The idea was to write a blog about the “backstage” of the hearings: what are visitors’ impressions about this event, what they think about organization…So I took a Dictaphone and went to Parliament’s JAN building to ask visitors to share their impressions. What did I get for answers? “It was good, well organized”, “Maybe it was too long…”, “It should be stressful for candidates”, “Hearings – an opportunity to show MEPs ”muscles”, “Well, I am working here, I can’t talk”, “I prefer not to answer” This hearing was a bit calm comparing to some “shows”". These answers led us ask ourselves: why people express their opinion so weakly or don’t express at all?

Did you hear about a theory of Spiral of Silence coined by Noelle-Neumann (1973) in political science and mass communication field? According to it, people express their views about an issue according to the majority. If my opinion doesn’t belong to the existing climate of public opinion I tend not to express it in public. I do this because of fear of isolation. Otherwise, I express my point of view which is more “popular”. Hence, public opinion becomes a result of interaction between the individual and his social environment.

This majority’s opinion is taken mostly from mass media, which, according to Noelle-Neumann can affect the spiral of silence in three ways: they shape impressions about which opinions are dominant, they shape impressions about which opinions are on the increase they shape impressions about opinions one can utter in public without becoming isolated. Another important point concerns the individuals’ psychological characteristics: during face to face situations we could encounter the problem of self confidence in expressing our point of view…

Hence, public opinion becomes a result of interaction between the individual and his social environment.

But there are different public spaces. Is there a difference between expressing your opinion within a face to face situation and to do this on the internet? Recently study of Ho and McLeod found that difference between online and off-line discussions. According to it, online discussions diluted the Spiral of Silence. People felt more liberated to express themselves “even after controlling for demographic, news media use, fear of isolation and opinion congruency variables“.

Back to our event…The silence in JAN building during and after hearings was totally opposite to the discussions held on Facebook…Could we then suggest that Internet can break the Spiral of Silence?