![Political Unfriending: A Comparative Study of Selective Avoidance on Social Media in Western Democracies](https://research.class.cityu.edu.hk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/20221216_Political_Unfriending_Cover-219x146.png)
When people encounter dissonant speech on social media, functions such as hiding comments, unfriending and unfollowing friends may reinforce the behaviour of selective avoidance in order to re-establish more homophilous environments online. Dr Marko SKORIC of CityU’s Department of Media and Communication conducted a comparative study with his team on the selective avoidance behaviour of social media users in France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.