Arguing on the Internet: Is It Worth It?
Have you ever had vigorous arguing on the Internet? That’s great. This is a very noble activity. Of course, it’s true on the condition that you were honest and tried to be objective.
But, what if it is a useless pastime? After all, the Internet is a huge ocean of Information. You can’t drink the ocean, as well as you can’t convince all the people on the Internet who’s wrong.
Some compare the Internet with a giant dump where you can find all kinds of ugly things. Besides, there are trolls who just want to steal your time for their entertainment.
Although there’s some truth in such a view, I’m going to explain to you why arguing on the internet is not a bad idea. In fact, it may bring a lot of benefits to society, and save particular individuals.
You Are a Saviour
Have you heard the parable about a girl who walked along the shore, picking up fish thrown out by the storm, and threw it back to the sea? Someone asked her, why is she doing that? If she can’t save all the fish anyway, what is the point? Her response was “it has a point for the fish that I save”.
Look at this from the perspective that you can change someone’s life. There are people who are in desperate need to be debunked, even if they don’t know that, yet. Maybe a person will remember you for the rest of their life as someone who has taught them to think critically. Perhaps the person won’t even memorize your name, or how you look. But, it doesn’t mean that they’ll forget the kindness that you showed them.
Wait a minute, are you suggesting that exposing one fallacy can change the life of its bearer? Someone could object to me. Yes, and here’s why:
Changing People’s Thinking Patterns
You see, when a person has wrong thinking patterns there’s a big chance that it’s reflected not only in one particular error. If a person believes that humans descended from dolphins and they are not critical about that, there’s a high possibility that they buy other misbeliefs that are potentially harmful, or even dangerous.
For instance, a gullible person may visit an energy healer to treat dangerous diseases. That may lead to lethal consequences. It doesn’t mean that the person is stupid, bad, or inherently ignorant. It just means that no one inoculated them with the right way of thinking.
Possibly that’s going to be you. You can help a person to get rid of his mistake in one case. That’ll lead them to doubt other things that they were sure about but didn’t investigate thoroughly.
The Point is Not in Bickering
Remember, that arguing doesn’t mean to be mean, or abusive. On the contrary, the best way to convince someone of anything is to be maximum polite and empathetic. A soft tongue will break a bone.
I realize that some people just have no patience to deal with someone who conveys highly extreme ideas: misogyny, racism, hate, bigotry, and so on. I agree that there are particular cases when it’s better to ignore absolutely insolent, and mentally ill people. However, based on my experience, there are a lot of misguided people who stick to idiotic ideas, but they didn’t hear quality refutation of those.
There’s also plenty of examples when people have changed their minds and were reeducated. In what manner? They’ve heard things that no one told them before. Treating them rude may only reinforce their convictions. Anger, and attempts to attack them personally have the potential to close their minds from considering your objections. In fact, a single dialogue with you may happen to be the only chance to hear the voice of common sense.
Here are some more tips on how to be efficient in refuting misinformation:
Be Honest
First of all you yourself have to be right to be able to lead anyone to the truth. There’s a chance that the intellectual “weight category” of your opponent in arguing is much higher than yours, whether he’s right or wrong. You may also happen to be wrong.
It’s important to stay open-minded and meticulously check all the facts that appear in your discussion. Never stop learning. If you feel that you have a lack of knowledge, you shouldn’t put it as the only goal to win. Thus, it’s fine to postpone discussion or stop it altogether until you will fill the gaps in your knowledge.
Be Persistent
The other essential component here is to be persistent. The emotional component of the discussion sometimes may prevent you from telling all the truth. In the middle of the conversation, a person may mention his personal painful experience: abuse, or physical suffering experienced during the war. In this case, it’s necessary to show compassion and empathy.
But, you have to find the proper balance between trying not to hurt your opponent’s feelings and insisting on the truth. The truth can be hard. Even if it feels uncomfortable and provides you with an awkward feeling, the point of a discussion is to insist on coming to a conclusion.
It’s not about, leaving the final word to yourself. It’s just that the dialogue has to be finished on the right note. Otherwise, what was the point of beginning it in the first place?
There’s also a chance that an interlocutor tries to avoid answering you because they don’t want to acknowledge that they were wrong. Maybe they are just tired and have a lack of focus. However, it’s reasonable to ask whether they agree with you or not. If not, why?
Maybe they find it onerous to check all the facts that you provided them with, and they try to finish the dialogue. We have to show courage and be adamant to bring the conversation to its logical conclusion.
Answer and Comment When You Are Ready
The dialogue doesn’t have to be finished in one day. In case when one of you is tired you can reschedule the discussion. Quality is better than quantity in this case. Answer your opponent when your mind is clear and you are able to read and comprehend all their arguments. It’s such a shame when you give a fervent response and afterward you notice that you miss the key point from the opponent’s response and essentially strawmening them.
Final Thoughts
Yes, it’s true that there is a lot of garbage on the internet, but, hey, as well as in real life. Instead of taking it for granted, let’s try to fix it. The more warriors of the Enlightenment will rise up on the internet to fight ignorance the less upsetting things we will find there in the future. After all, if someone successfully spreads lies, cyberbullying, and outrageous stupidity on the internet, we can as well successfully spread the opposite things.
