Social Media Debates Must Stop
Social media in all its forms often leads to heated debates with strangers.
2020’s latest hobby is debating on the internet with strangers. Each day a new post is going viral, being posted on every teenager’s Instagram story, trending under hashtags and causing large heated debates in the comments. Twitter, Instagram, Reddit and even the neighborhood communication app Nextdoor have all seen their share of virtual bickering. Outraged by the things going on in the world and the divisiveness created by politics, people are taking to social media to fight for their beliefs more than ever before.
Social media debates can take on a variety of topics, ranging from political issues and current events to whether a dress is actually blue or gold. Though there has never been a social media debate to successfully end with a winner, that doesn’t stop people from indulging in an irresistibly heated argument taking place in the comment section of an innocent post.
A typical debate on social media plays out like this:
User 1: Comments on a viral, slightly controversial post with a sarcastic and somewhat rude statement, disagreeing with the views presented in the post.
User 2: Sees User 1’s comment and is angry that User 1, a person they have never met before, would disagree with them. They then spend 20 minutes researching and preparing a passive-aggressive response to their comment (usually spanning more than two paragraphs in length) explaining why User 1 is wrong, uneducated and a bad person for believing what they believe.
User 1: Sees User 2’s argument and begins to type out the snarky response he had already begun to write in his head before posting his original comment.
The debate rages on as both participants begin to throw together more hastily written arguments, with questionable statistics occasionally thrown into the mix to make their argument sound smarter. Others then chime in, hoping to get in on the action, supporting one of the users and attacking the other, but it isn’t long before the debate has become a whole new futile argument amongst completely different users surrounding a completely different topic. The whole thing is eventually forgotten about, no winner is declared and the two original users are left trying to justify why they canceled plans to spend three hours debating with a stranger in the comment section of a Reddit post. The users continue to go about their life, believing what they believe and gaining nothing from the many hours that they spent arguing.
While they are quite entertaining to read, social media debates are of no value to anybody. I know it’s tempting to speak up and share your opinions when you see something you disagree with or that makes you angry, but arguing on social media is a waste of time. It’s good to have real conversations, in which each party is willing to learn or explore a new view. The person who resides under the username @trump2020 or @ihateconservatives is not looking to be persuaded by your arguments and is only fighting to fight. So next time you feel the urge to fight someone on social media and to take sport in a social media debate, just don’t.
Gracie is a junior at Boulder High School. She has always enjoyed writing and is excited to write for The Owl this year. By taking part in Newspaper, Gracie hopes to gain a better understanding of journalism as well as strengthen her writing skills. When she’s not at school, Gracie is often rowing, spending time with her dog Lucy, or cooking. She also is part of the swim team and FBLA at Boulder High. She loves reading the news and has a passion for politics, hoping to study political science after high school. While she cares about many things, Gracie is most enthusiastic about her love for green grapes.
Caitlin Rogers • Dec 14, 2020 at 6:15 pm
I agree with this article fully, Gracie. The social media arguments sure are entertaining, but reading through them I even think to myself of their purpose for doing this. Neither are open to hearing each other’s ideas and lead to very little, if not nothing. I actually just read an article from The Owl about beneficial political conversations and social media posts was an outlet for this. Opposite from social media arguments in the comments, social media posts, if done correctly, can foster conversation calmly that don’t spark arguments. I like how upfront you are about this issue and admit how entertaining they can be. Instead of hiding the fact of its comedic impact, you put it in the open and then present your argument of their minimal benefits.