Half of Slovaks Would Express Opinion Online Even at Cost of Hurting Others

Bratislava, October 19 (TASR) - Half of Slovaks are of the opinion that it's okay to express an opinion on social media, even at the cost of hurting someone else's feelings, according to a recent survey carried out by NMS Market Research agency. The opinion that everyone has the right to express an opinion on a social network, even at the cost of hurting others, was the most prevalent among men and supporters of the Smer-SD and We Are Family parties. The survey also showed that half of the respondents would be willing to delete those who post offensive, rude comments and posts from their social media contacts, even if they were relatives or friends. This reaction was most often chosen by women, people with higher education, inhabitants of Bratislava region, and supporters of the Progressive Slovakia and Democrats parties. Up to 75 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that they would only write what they would tell the recipient of the message in person. The majority of the respondents also agreed with the statement that public figures should put up with the fact that there will be hateful comments under their posts. The survey was carried out on a sample of 1,044 respondents between August 8 and August 12. Only respondents with a profile on at least one social network were included in the analysis. zel/mcs/mf