Where You Spend Your Time On Social Media Says A Lot About Your Political Beliefs

What Your Social Media Accounts Say About Your Political Beliefs
Reporters check their smartphones while waiting outside US House Speaker John Boehner's office at the US Capitol in Washington on September 30, 2013 as a possible government shutdown looms. The United States stumbled to within hours of a government shutdown, as a budget duel between President Barack Obama and Republicans threatened America with a self-inflicted economic wound. AFP PHOTO/Nicholas KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)
Reporters check their smartphones while waiting outside US House Speaker John Boehner's office at the US Capitol in Washington on September 30, 2013 as a possible government shutdown looms. The United States stumbled to within hours of a government shutdown, as a budget duel between President Barack Obama and Republicans threatened America with a self-inflicted economic wound. AFP PHOTO/Nicholas KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

With all the social media platforms out there-- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit-- it's hard to balance what we use and determine how much time we devote to each one. But did you know that where you spend the most time could also say a lot about where you stand politically?

If your favorite platform is Twitter, for example, that could be because you're a Democrat.

At least that's what a new study by Quantcast suggests, which found that where you go online reveals a lot about your political beliefs.

Overall, the study found that people on social media are generally passive when it comes to politics and much less politically active than the average American. Twitter users are the exception-- with users actually more likely to be involved in politics than the U.S. population. The study used data from over 114 million referral events in August.

In general, users across all social platforms tended to be Democrats, except for Pinterest. Pinterest, which also brings in an older and richer following, had the highest percentage of Republican users in the study, and was more Republican compared the the US population.

If you're on Facebook, however, well-- it's hard to really tell what you are. The study showed that Facebook users represent pretty much every party equally-- Democrats, Republicans and Independents. And if you're really up on the trends and on Twitch and Reddit all day long, that could be because you're joining the growing number of Independents in the US.

Find out more about how the study was conducted here.

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