Online Arguments

Hello everyone and welcome back to our weekly blog post. Today I am going to discuss an example of an online argument I came across, and what NOT to say/do when discussing things online. 

As we all know, the 2024 election occurred recently which makes social media a very hot-headed place to share your political opinions. Most of the time, online users think that just because they aren't talking with their opinionated opponent face-to-face that it is perfectly acceptable to say rude things. But it is not at all. Humans are still humans even when communicating over social media through comment threads and everyone deserves to be treated with respect and kindness. As a society in a digital age, I think many of us are still learning how to navigate social media and disagreements in a positive way. 

Here is a source from University of Washington that gives more information about how to have more positive arguments online: https://www.washington.edu/news/2021/04/19/uw-researchers-studying-how-to-make-online-arguments-productive/

For my example, I chose a short excerpt from an argument occurring within the comment section of a TikTok video. This video was giving information about the bomb threat that targeted multiple of Trump's incoming cabinet/administration picks. This video was published by a news source account that is verified on TikTok, and the video did not have much information as to what political opinions the owner of the account might have. Therefore, this video attracted the attention of thousands of users, democratic and republican. I chose this specific argument because I think it was executed very poorly by both parties and i think there is a lot of disrespect being used. But I also think that in this particular conversation there was opportunity for a positive argument if it was gone about with a different mindset. 

Three negative examples/concerns from this argument: 

1. The outright blaming: The use of "you" in general is targeting democrats that might have opposing opinions, therefore attracting their attention and instigating a response from them. The response from the other person also uses "you" when they say that the person is lying, and that they are no better than the people making bomb threats. Both parties should have used "I" instead of you, so the other person doesn't get defensive. 

2. The name calling: by calling someone "evil" and a "liar" you are trying to get a reaction out of them. Most of the time name calling will result in an even more negative and rude response as is demonstrated here. 

3. Making claims without using supporting evidence: saying someone has assaulted women and incited an insurrection could be true or false, but your opponent may not know if you do not provide supporting evidence. The person who commented originally also should use evidence as to why the people he is referring to actually "stand for our country and freedoms".

Here are 5 rules I created for how to argue correctly:

1. Do not call your "opponent" and rude names or phrases. 

2. Use evidence to back up any claims made within the argument. 

3. Be respectful to your "opponent" and try to refrain from using "you", and instead say "I" so you can talk about your opinions/views instead of harping on theirs. 

4. In an online setting, try to refrain from using any emojis because they could be interpreted differently than you intended. 

5. Try to educate yourself on the topic before making claims about it on the internet.