Why Can't We be Friends? How Meaningful Existence, Political Identity, Political Party, and Partisan Attitudes Relate to Social Media Exclusion.

Past research shows that Social Networking Site (SNS) users report experiencing exclusion (e.g., unfriending) based on political beliefs. We examined how college students’ political identity strength, meaningful existence, political party, and outgroup attitudes relate to SNS exclusion. Results revealed that these constructs interrelate, with political party playing a critical role.