I know.....anyone that's spent more than 10 minutes on Facebook would answer this in a heartbeat...probably less. And actually, that's a symptom of what has become all too common today on social media. Fact is though, what we take for arguments on social media is often nothing more than bickering and fighting.
An argument is defined: "...to give reasons or cite
evidence in support of an idea, action, or theory, typically with the
aim of persuading others to share one's view...." You'd be hard pressed to find much on social media today that meets that criteria. Reason.....Evidence.....you're more likely to spot a herd of blue unicorns crossing a street downtown. And fighting generally has no winner; accomplishes nothing...we often feel worse when it's over...certainly not more enlightened.
Now personally, I love arguing...always have!! I even had "argumentative" put on one of my annual reviews by my mentor. Right now, the people that know me personally are sitting quietly......nodding their heads. Or possibly hoping that I will eventually mellow with age and start being more agreeable. But then what sort of example would I be for my space-lawyer grand kids who have taken arguing to an a whole 'nother level! I'm so proud of them!! The fact is though, my mentor went on to recommend me for three significant promotions in my career. Arguing can be annoying, but it's purpose is just what the definition says...a method of conveying facts and reason to persuade others. That can be very beneficial to your boss when you can consistently convince the powers-that-be to "find" additional budget money for us!
So why else is this important? We say that attorneys "argue a case before the Supreme Court". We don't say they sit before the Court bickering and throwing insults at each other like children. [Naturally that's reserved for the politicians and the news media] It's important because arguing and debating (which is just arguing with rules!) is a way to expand our minds and our horizons. It allows us to at least consider the possibility that what we believed may be wrong. I can only imagine what social media would have looked like when flat-earthers first heard about this new concept of a round world!
What's happened then to cause us to lose the most important tool of intellectual expansion? How did we come to know everything with such certainty? Knowing everything is the single greatest impediment to learning. One thing is certain though, we've become a society of headline readers. By the time we've read the headline of a story and maybe...maybe!!...the first line or two, we've formed an instant opinion. We also consider the source of the article before considering the facts...if we even look at the facts. Believing anything that agrees with our preconceived opinions and dismissing everything that doesn't.
Most disturbing is that we have all but lost the ability to analyze conflicting statements. The knee-jerk reaction of sharing information without a moment to consider the facts that are used to support the article...assuming it's even based on facts. We share without considering if what we are sharing is even real. We twist facts to justify our views. Which is vastly different than presenting arguments in a debate. In a debate you do present those facts that best support your case, but there is the back-and-forth of statements and rebuttals that allow the listener to weigh these arguments in order to decide what facts are most convincing.
And this is a great lose to us as a society because without the ability to weigh opposing arguments in a rational way, we cannot make sound decisions. There can be no understanding...no expansion of our minds. There can be no empathy for the lives of others...because we have already dismissed them. And there can be no compromise either...because compromise requires some understanding of your opponent. We no longer try to understand...we just lash out at anything that appears to threaten those things we know to be true. Maybe that's a part of it too. As we lose more and more control over even the smallest aspects of our lives, we fight harder and harder to hold on to what we have left.
Are we just overwhelmed then with this unprecedented flood of information? Limiting our time to the extent where we have to resort to ignoring so much of it? It seems amazing though...and ironic...that we can have such an incredible amount of information and yet be uninformed, even ignorant, like no other time. Maybe misinformed would be a better description...since we no longer seem to be able to tell what is real and what is propaganda. Either way, in the end, when you lose the ability to judge the truth or wisdom of information, you can no longer make intelligent decisions. There are many casualties as a result. When we complain how our political system is broken, we have to realize that it's broken in large part because of us as a whole. And it's not lost on those that make and manipulate the "news", or politicians who clamour for our votes, that we are headline readers. If we want to change this...and change our world in the process...we'd better learn to stop fighting and start re-learning the lost art of arguing!
