Those on the margins, however, don’t fear backlash or retaliation from offering isolating opinions and are voicing viewpoints that go largely unchecked, fueling online dialogue that is becoming increasingly polarized.“They report lower levels of self-censorship than those who are moderate.”To understand the impact of the vocal minority on social media, Knighton, along with BYU public relations professor Chris Wilson and graduate student Alycia Burnett, surveyed over 1,000 participants from a nationwide sample that mirrored the US census.The results indicate that those who self-identify as a strong conservative and or liberal possess the lowest levels of self-censorship and will speak up about the issues they care about.Participants in the study were also asked to identify how they felt about specific social issues using a political typology tool developed by the Pew Research Center.If we get out of the mode of trying to prove that we are right and get into the mode of talking about solutions to specific problems, there may be a chance that social media can be a less intimidating place to talk about politics.”Knighton says these findings hold important implications for the average American and serve as a reminder to recognize that what you read on social media doesn’t necessarily reflect the views of the broader population."