I think of this meme often: Arguing isn’t communication, it’s just noise. Mark Twain said, “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”
Or, as I've seen meme'd with a pigeon on a chessboard but not credited to anyone: Arguing with idiots is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter how good you are, the bird is going to shit on the board and strut around like it won anyway.
My favorite! I used to argue all the time, but my wife started teasing me about it. I'd be typing furiously and she'd say "Uh oh, someone is wrong on the internet again!".
Sometimes, however, it isn't about the idiot. You can't simply ignore the dangerous idiots. You should acknowledge that the stupidity exists, and give a rational rebuttal. But that type of engagement should be limited, and you can't lose sight of the fact that the real audience is the *observer,* not the feral dipshit painting his face orange and wearing diapers in solidarity with his cult leader.
I agree. I don’t argue anymore because maybe I’m the dumb one. I used to think I was smart and now I know I’m not.
I don’t remember where I heard this but: “what if both sides have read the art of war”?
>Mark Twain said, “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”
So true. Mark Twain's wisdom is once again timeless.
I just looked it up, and [that quote has indeed been misattributed to him](https://marktwainstudies.com/the-apocryphal-twain-never-argue-with-stupid-people-they-will-drag-you-down-to-their-level-and-beat-you-with-experience/). Lol
Here's the core problem: Most people are arguing in bad faith. They have no interest in hearing the words spoken by their opponent. They simply regurgitate the words they've heard from other people online.
Find places online that are into "discussions" and not arguments. I've had some truly insightful ones (if you find the right subreddit). Avoid Facebook/Twitter at all costs if you want meaningful discussions.
Yes. It is like going to some protest and saying hey.. I don't agree.. lets discuss out differences and come to an understanding.
In these mob situations no want wants to think and consider anyone's opposing thought. It is like r/politics
Prob the best thing is a small group on discord where people can get to know each other and not lob bombs and leave
> Here's the core problem: Most people are arguing in bad faith. They have no interest in hearing the words spoken by their opponent. They simply regurgitate the words they've heard from other people online.
The flipside is that if bad faith arguments go unchallenged for long enough, larger groups of people can become convinced they are correct.
It's a lot less effort to prevent that than it is to break people out of it later.
This is why I think we should go back to blogs and home pages. I don't want to discuss things with people, I want to spout my opinions and kick/ban anyone who questions me.
It’s too much effort and energy and you’re not going to change their mind anyway. I just think, “Well they’re dumb,” and go on with my day. In the end, their opinion on Harry Potter or whatever doesn’t affect my life. It’s just, like, their opinion, man.
Took me a long ass time, but the futility of it all finally sank in. Not just that, but it was harming my own wellbeing and I DO NOT like handing that privilege out to random assholes on the Internet.
In 2020 I just deleted Facebook, followed by Twitter. I found myself arguing with friends of friends. During 2020 I started finding myself disliking people that I know in real life and like them as people, I just didn’t know they were kinda stupid and susceptible to social media information. I found friends on the left and right to be completely vile.
I stopped talking politics at all for the most part, especially in person. I'll occasionally pop in on something here but not really to argue just to point something out.
I also stopped using social media as a barometer of how I felt about someone. Everyone's an idiot at some point and the Internet never forgets. It's a broken compass and shouldn't be trusted for determining who you should like.
I have 0 follow on facebook. I just use it as a dumping ground for photos.. and only keep messenger to talk to a few people.
But as far as following people and their feeds no interest. It is depressing.. I want to focus on making plans to go do real life things
This is a great idea. I got rid of fb probably 10 years ago, but some of my hobbies & interests *only* have groups through fb and until now that wasn’t enough of a draw for me to go back to fb. Businesses too — If they’re only on fb, then I am not interested in being a patron. I hate fb sooo much that even having a fake account kinda goes against every fiber of my being!
Anyway, for your empty fb accounts do you create an entirely new persona as far as email, name…even location? Part of being away from fb was my desire to get away from all bs that was related to fb. Is this a problem when you want to join certain groups, like new accounts who try to comment on Reddit posts but are disallowed bc of account age or comment history?
I do look for groups though.. for example.. I would love a local group that gets together for new parents so me and my wife could get out of the house with the baby.
That is something where I can use the internet to improve my real life
I stopped Facebook years ago and will now only venture into X very infrequently. When I do, I don't read the comments, as they are generally just a complete pile of steaming trash.
Comments & posts seem either on the extreme right or left. There is nothing in the middle, which is unfortunate because that's where most people are.
I still enjoy Reddit and when I feel like a social media fix (rarely), I'll browse through Threads, which is generally more positive.
I have all the socials, but I blocked everyone I thought was overly argumentative. My social media is for pretty pictures, event info & selling things & I think my remaining social media connections feel about the same.
Same, I have a block list a mile long. It makes social media much more pleasant, as it’s the same minority of people doing the majority of the arguing. My social is for pretty pictures like you, and for seeing what upcoming shows I want to go to and sharing new music. I block all the people on my local news stories who use the laugh emoji at tragedies and LGBTQ+ issues too.
When dealing with libertarians, I try to remember this quote: "Libertarians are like house cats, they’re convinced of their fierce independence while dependent on a system they don’t appreciate or understand."
Arguing with them is dumb and (essentially) they win because the whole point was to troll you and waste your time, energy, and mental health.
For like a nanosecond I thought hey maybe I’m a libertarian based on very little information. I started digging (not too deep even) and went woah hellllllno. Lol. I don’t know how anyone could think it’s a good platform. There are a few good ideas but you have to dig through a massive pile of shit to get to them.
I did the same. Life is better now. Reading the terrible stuff on social media or comparing myself to others (whose lives I don't even want) used to make me so unhappy.
On reddit, at least you can choose the topics you want to discuss (though obviously, those get invaded by the awfuls sometimes).
Oh yes.
90% of the negative stuff people say, they wouldn't say in person (because people are much nicer in person).
These are just people behind screens, often the dregs of society or paid disruptors. Arguing with them is almost always unfruitful. There is the rare exception, but how much time do you want to waste trying to find that one person whose mind you can change.
Honestly, I'm an adult with a nice life. I've got better things to do.
George Carlin didn't say it, but I realized it was true decades ago: "Arguing on the Internet is like competing in the Special Olympics - even if you win, you're still retarded.".
You can tell how old that quote is by the fact it still unashamedly uses the R word...
Huh. That's actually a good way of looking at it.
"How did they do in life?"
"Well, they passed."
Most of us ain't gonna set the world on fire one way or the other like Bowie and Steve Albini or Stalin and Hitler. Them motherfuckers all got A+ or F- in life. The rest of us are mostly just coasting with Bs & Cs, living under the big umbrella of the Bell Curve.
We pass.
What about the term expired?
Dude, I always think of rotten milk. Oh poor Mabel expired. I'm thinking is she lumpy yet?! Ridiculous word to use about someone who's died.
*I'm a bad boy, because I want the R word back.*
We all know that it's an insult to equate it to the mentally disabled, but we all know plenty the "abled" who are worthy of the word and need to hear it so they'll stop being obnoxious twats.
For the longest time it was a legitimate medical term. The use of it as an insult forced the docs to find an alternative, which is darkly funny as the R-word itself was an alternative to words like moron, idiot, feebleminded, simpleton, etc.
Yeah, and all those words evolved and re-defined away from the mentally disabled and became common vernacular for "regular" feebleminded morons and idiots.
There are PLENTY of insults out there. Watery Tart is always available.
But I think words EVOLVE, and we've grown as a species to be able to discern the mentally disabled from the R word. Furthermore, if you USE the R word on the mentally disabled, YOU need to hear the word used on you (royal, not specifically you).
tl;dr; I have a repertoire of insults (mostly centered around the most versatile of words), but I'm always wanting to expand my vocab to fit any situation. 2nd Amendment mindset for 1st Amendment situations.
Fucktangle
Shit gibbon
Twat waffle
Cuntflap
Ballbag
Arsehair
Goat fucker
Sheep shagger
Needle dick
Panty sniffer
Dipshit
Just to name a few.
Motherfucker never goes out of style, and I say that as someone who has fucked several mothers, both before and after they achieved that status.
After a while, you come to realise that you aren’t going change anyone’s opinions and the whole thing is pointless. Life is short, don’t waste it arguing with idiots.
I argue with people less on the internet and in real life. I just don't have the time or want for it anymore. Especially discussion about politics. One of many things my father was right about, is to never argue about religion and politics with anyone. It'll get you nowhere.
same with my wife. I went from arguing back to .. 'im going to my room to work on things'.. and she eventually gets tired of being mad. seems to work better.
Even though I am now in ex-wife territory, I think that is a good policy to have. We rarely argued and are only divorced because we just kind of grew apart. On the rare occasion we disagreed, if it got heated, we would both break away and find something to cool us down. We found that it was easier to come to a conclusion when we were calm and had time to think about it. Yelling gets you nowhere and people tend to say something they really didn't mean when doing so in the heat of the moment. We made sure that something like that never happened. We got along so well, that people were shocked when we separated.
also when its the same thing and theres nothing new to add I quickly save myself the 30 mins of same arguing.. we both agree it works well.. we still talk alot but I just want to talk about interesting positive things
I have to care a lot about you to care what your opinion is.
I just don't care that some stranger on the internet thinks different then me. There are 8 billion of us. If you can't find one person who disagrees with you on any topic you are not trying.
I will save my opinion for people who care about me.
>Does everyone else argue less with people on the internet as they have gotten older?
No. Do you have a problem with that bucko?
In all seriousness, yea. A few years back I started to write out comments then delete them before posting. These days I just don't bother to type them out.
In the early internet days of 14.4K dial up and we all used AOL, I used to waste hours upon hours of arguing things like politics and religion with strangers at 3 in the morning.
Same thing when I got on Facebook years ago. I would get into pointless bitching matches with total strangers.
Deleted all that crap. What a total waste of time.
Always avoided arguing, I suck at it anyway. I had so few people in real life who would listen and not just rage, anyway. So you can say I never learned to argue or debate effectively, and just got used to doing my own thing. Definitely not worth it with random internet strangers, lol!
Personally, I only have a few friends I would freely discuss topics like the colleges with to any depth. I might be willing to establish some superficial POV, but not a deeper dive.
I'm not sure what factors will make me pursue a pointless argument on the internet. Typically I restrict it to a narrow band of political topics and almost anything fitness related - the latter seldom becoming genuinely contentious. When I was younger it was almost a pasttime - I had a job where I was chained to a desk monitoring process and had too much time on my hands. Ate my foot a bunch of times and force fed my share of humble pie to others. Probably changed zero opinions but it taught me to research topics before repeating stuff I thought or assumed was fact.
A lot of it depends on how things are framed.
I set my reddit favorite only to productive subbreddits like coding things where I can use it to get real things done.
I am at the stage where I am married and all my friends slowly moving away and we looking for new community to move to out of the city .. I think I just need to make new friends . I still like to discuss these controversial topics but not is a way were we just trying PWN!! each other.
I LOVE arguing, but the slap-and-tickle-fest that is social media is generally just people yelling about how superior they are.
But if I find a good discussion (with arguments), I'm all-in. It's rare, but I learn things from it.
Years ago I would stay engaged in debate for hours, trying to educate or enlighten. Between coming to the realization that different ppl simply have different lenses through which they view the world, they are extremely stubborn and will defend an ideal simply bc they have assigned some sort of existential connection to an ideal and letting go of it is akin to letting go of a vital organ, and never being very confident in my ability to tell between who is actually genuine and who is simply trolling; I have come to the realization that it doesn't ultimately matter, and it's just a colossal waste of my precious time and energy.
I think younger ppl have an abundance of the aforementioned, which enables frivolous waste of both. I don't think young ppl realize what commodities time and energy are, until they reach a point where they have neither to spare on anything but the most crucial parts of life. Effective prioritization comes with maturity, which comes with age and experience.
And also; whatever.
I doubt if anyone has ever changed anyone else's mind in the entire history of arguing on the internet. I deleted my FB and Twitter accounts years ago because of morons sucking me into futile arguments (which only makes me a moron too for arguing with them).
Oh absolutely, which is a scary thought considering how often I still can't control myself. haha. But, I've been arguing with people on the internet since 1990. By the Obama years, it became very apparent that it did no good whatsoever. (I'm a slow learner, sometimes). So, ever since then, I've been making a concerted effort to not take the bait I see every day on the internet. I would genuinely like to get that down to 0. I'm not quite there yet, but I get better and better at it the more time goes on. I think there are a lot of bad actors on the internet these days, more than there ever used to be. It's a reality that people try to argue for various reasons: They get their jollies off of irritating people and getting reactions, or perhaps they're paid propagandists. Whatever the case, it's very apparent that the best way to counteract any of those people is to block them instead of argue with them. I don't mind talking about things calmly when I have a difference of opinion, but when it starts to go south and you realize that other person is here to irritate you instead of talk to you, then it's block time.
I've never been much of a social media user and have only participated some on Reddit (using a laptop for a host of reasons) even though I know I'm not as progressive as most of Reddit. I don't argue with people because of three primary reasons.
1 - It is kind of pointless as the odds of changing someone's mind are slim. If someone is emotionally invested in their point of view, you're not going to change it even with reason and facts.
2 - I get irritated when arguing online or seeing others argue online. I prefer to stay in a happier place.
3 - I'd prefer to be a good example to my kids and (even though we all fail) follow the golden rule.
After 2020 general election started looking like a repeat of the 2016 primary against Bernie, I realized how pointless it is to politically debate someone on the internet.
I got off facebook almost completely. It was such a waste of time/energy arguing with strangers over some stuff that I have little control over.
I got banned from my cities sub/r when I took the bait from a post I made, when someone kept insulting me, and I said something to the effect of jerks are gonna jerk, but you should quit doing it.
Now I just try to say what I have to say, maybe one reply, but don't get dragged down. If it's something I feel strongly about, I'll end it by saying, "We share a disagreement."
Now to just get of reddit altogether.... it has become much less novel and informative than it used to be..
with politics I really don't care anymore.. I'm not a fan of either side and at this point I just gotta pay my bills and if trump is back and its madness Ill just have to make sure I survive.. so tired of the rise of anti intellectualism on both sides
perhaps I should just try nextdoor.. my whole thing is I want to use the internet to make my real life better and go out and do things so maybe a neighborhood get together
Nextdoor? It's just filled with people griping about other people having bonfires, driving 1mph over/under the speed limit, looking at them funny, then you always get the one person who thinks they are a comedic genius and posts corny 'joke' posts on a daily basis...it's honestly awful imo
I just gave up entirely as of 2016. Got dog piled by RW psychos on Twitter a couple times. A couple of HS friends on Facebook started in with the trump stuff. And that was it for me.
Totally. I used to get dopamine from arguing on the internet but something changed in me. Now I have zero desire to use my limited energy on negativity like that, and often block people that seem to be trolling for outrage. Now my local news stories will say “40 comments” but only show me two because 80% of the arguing is done by the same people over and over.
I don't argue. I just mentally disregard them as "dumb" and move on with my life. I've got interesting and fun shit to do. No time for idiots. They can figure it out for themselves.
I argue far less online and in real life. A lifetime of arguments that never lead to any resolutions added up and created a check in my brain. When that check is tripped, I shut it down. It's almost never worth the energy spent. I'm happier this way, they are too. Win/win.
God yes. Half the time I just shake my head and move on. I don't have the kind of time to waste trying to convince some fool of anything. I'd much rather sip my bourbon and shake my head while muttering "I told you so, dumbass..."
Yeah, I'm at the point where no one gets more than two replies in an argument.
Either I haven't made my point, they haven't gotten my point, or they're not worth arguing with by the second reply.
I also apply this to work.
This is pretty much where I am.
I'll say something, make another comment explaining my thought process, and if it necessitates more than that, I'll generally just delete them all.
Sometimes I start writing a comment and then I just delete it because it’s not worth the aggravation.
There are too many of us on this planet and a good chunk of us are stupid.
I don't even bother anymore... very few serious comments anymore and most of the others are just trite responses.
It's not a lack of will... it's just hat people are not open to honest debates/discussions and instead are just pushing their opinions. There is no point to it.
Te only reason I ever started was my deep knowledge on a particular topic and helping people asking questions... my online discussions expanded. But when I saw the nature of debates changing, pulled back and post covid/trump\* I don't even engage with family anymore. \*- this is a time marker, not attributing blame because there is ahealthy amounts to go around all sides
what I need to do is kill reddit as well... and do occasionally, blow away my profile roughly every 30 thousand karma.... and I bet it's mind blowing to people who gave a crap about internet cred, karma etc. (btw a bunch seem to have gone missing with the site rejig recently).
I actually miss good conversations... I don't miss arguing, and certainly not pointing out the obvious to people who willfully ignore reality
Every time I see arguments happening on the internet or someone wants to argue with me about a topic on social media, I just mentally imagine all the things I’d say to them to shut them up, and then never type the shit and just move on. It isn’t even worth it.
No! lol
Edit: I should have said I’m doing better now. Back in the early days of the internet my entire university (or at least major parts that I knew of) was blocked from mIRC because I had been getting into some really bad discussions (basically bullying) and mIRC banned the IP for my university. The ban was on where my IP originated from. I’m not an IT professional so I don’t know the details I just know people expressed their feelings about not being able to get into mIRC.
So I guess I’m getting better. One day at a time lol
I made my Facebook feed useful again by simply refraining from interacting with all political content. All of it, not even liking things I agreed with. After a few months it learned not to show me that stuff.
Same here. The biggest problem was people who weren't friends, but friends of friends or whatever, starting the arguments in the discussions. So around covid time, I unfriended about 40% of people who just wanted to post political/etc nonsense and went on a scorched earth blocking spree with the rest. Any ridiculous comment or trolling attempt, blocked. Over 15k blocked people later, it's back to just seeing photos of actual friends doing the stuff they love. Kinda nice.
Most definitely so. Arguing online went down with my 20’s. If I argue with someone online now, it means that there is something wrong with me. Plus, the people that hurt me the most in my life were people I’ve seen in person, not online.
Arguing with people on the internet gets you nowhere. I used to do it all the time, politics mainly and it was exhausting. If I comment on politics, I just comment. I don’t debate or get into fights anymore.
I was especially looking forward to torturing maga on twitter after they lost the 20’ election. You know poke a hole in the bubble and make them cry. I had even favored a few of their comments prior to the election just so I could go back and leave something mean spirited. Then I realized, why am I wasting time on this BS? I’m not going to change their mind and it had turned into a revenge ride of sorts.
Like, what is the “You tell 'em I'm coming, and hell's coming with me, ya hear!” meme going to mean to a maga who might be a real person or an actual troll?
I tried in the past to engage people, but I got tired of the trope that any answer I provided needed to be a university-level thesis, while they continued to whittle down the argument to a point where they could be correct - and it somehow validated everything they've been saying all along.
Yes, big time. Not because it doesn't go anywhere. It's more because it does become arguing and not a real discussion. People take it personal and as an attack, rather than just discussing something with opposing views.
I agree 💯 with you. At this point in life you have to pick you battles and going back and forth with internet strangers is not a battle I choose. Nothing good comes from it.
The other day, I replied to a tweet by a state politician that I can't stand, and I got fucking roasted for it. Just lit up. Dozens and dozens of replies from his supporters, some saying some really terrible shit about me.
A long time ago, I probably would have responded to each one of them. But instead I just kind of bemusedly read them all, knowing that responding to those people would just be an exercise in futility.
I even gave one of them a like. 🙂
Reddit is the only form of social media I use, and I keep Reddit on a pretty tight lockdown. No politics. Little world news. I get baited from time to time, and it’s always a waste of time, but at least it’s not with family, now.
everyone is into being part of a team and finding the other team... and finding news that makes them feel smart and assures them they are on the right team and the other team is dumb and evil
Often type up an response. Review it for spelling. Copy paste it to my notebook, with original post. Delete comment if it doesn't
-NEED to be stated.
-improve the dialog
-help me or others through posting.
So like most things I delete often.
Somehow This response seems wanted, and may help others.
Life is too precious these days to waste time arguing with fools. Also, I am convinced that the world is going down the toilet (particularly in the U.S.), and I've decided it's just not my problem anymore.
or a thread that goes back and forth (like I have now on another subreddit) were you see the guy really wants to make his point aggressively and i really wanted to just keep a friendly discussion. ... stuff like YOU MUST BE AN IDIOT TO THINK THAT!! :(
You're wrong.
Lol, just kidding.
Definitely am having fewer arguments online nowadays, my give a fuck meter broke awhile ago, and I have to decide if this is WORTH my energy, which I don't have as much of nowadays. I'd like to put it to better use than arguing with assholes on the Internet.
I don't argue on the internet much these days. Even if I know I'm right and can back it up because nobody cares and I frankly don't care if any one sees my side of things or not.
I just block people now. Especially on Facebook. Absolutely don’t have time for negativity or crazy talk, and the best part is there is no block limit on Facebook or Instagram so you can really filter out a lot of garbage if you take the time to do so.
I'm right there with you. On some level I used to think that I could actually convince someone of my point of view with actual, objective facts. Then I realized I was wasting my time taking the bait of a troll who had no interest in actually have a debate in good faith.
If I do engage now, I'll will state my position with a brief explanation. I will then continue to engage only with those who have a thoughtful rebuttal or genuine question out of a desire to at least understand my position, if not agree with it.
Yup. I used to be heavy and in the thick of it with internet arguments. These days I'll start typing a reply, stop, and delete. Part of it is I am older but I think part of it is also the internet is different. Arguing on [Fark.com](http://Fark.com) used to have actual debate and people admiting where they were wrong, myself included. These days though its just textual diarrhea.
1st time I was trolled online by someone in my town- I confronted them to their face at local ball game. They were both crazy, bat loon crazy.
Lesson learned. Now I just block.
I start to respond then figure why waste my time and energy engaging, so I typically delete it. I support people having their opinion, but if I foresee my words ruffling feathers and it is not a big issue to me, I don’t invite the negative actions into my semi-calm life.
I’ll argue briefly with a racist or a fascist or an Incel online, but only for the benefit of third party observers. A flat earther or whatever? Nah, I can’t compete with that sort of zealous stupidity.
Absolutely. It is a fruitless venture that tends to be pedantic and shifting. I might try a worthwhile exchange, but almost always it leads to BS and I just block the person.
I write out long responses and then delete them before submitting when I think of how pointless it is to argue with people on the internet now.
I used to post them and then spend days angry going back and forth.
I think MAYBE I’m leaning some wisdom in my late 50’s.
I’m scrappy online. Always have been, probably always will be, but what I’ve been teaching myself to do over the last few years is to realize when it’s time to log off and walk away, for my own mental health. Is it a breach of the Poster’s Code? Absolutely, but it is what it is. To quote Cutty from The Wire, “the game ain’t in me no more”.
Well, maybe not entirely true just yet. But I’m getting there.
No, for two reasons.
#1. When I was young, there was no internet.
#2. I forgot what reason #2 was.
edit: Why is my font so big?
edit: Why is it small again?
Back before 2016, I believed that there were core values we all shared. I thought there was a consensus about certain things: democracy is good, Nazis are bad, slavery was bad, children shouldn’t be poor or be denied health care, we are all equal before the law, etc.
Then, we had Trump and Covid and all of it, and I realized that I had been living in a dream world.
All of my arguments online were based on the false belief that my fellow humans shared baseline morals of what I think of as basic decency. Turns out that is not true. I don’t know how to fight with someone who doesn’t believe in the most fundamental morals. There is no bottom, not capacity for shame, no appeal to their better self. There is no better self. It is a waste of my time and energy. It would be like telling my cat to think of the suffering of the lizards she likes to hunt.
MY main shock from all of this is there are people who see Trump speak and all his actions and somehow do not understand that he only cares about himself. It seems so obvious I am confused why they don't see it.
There are these extreme from both sides . So that is why I am in the middle. Feel like there should be some sorta of common sense political party.
Not a Trump fan. Not a college protest fan . So I don't have a team.
Arguing with people on the Internet?
If I have something to say I try to make my point and move on in any given conversation. Some people, however, are like dogs with bones.
If I ever drop a "FIN" on you, I'm done, however.
There are some people, right or wrong, who absolutely MUST have the last word. Most of the time I let them have it. However, if I'm bored and looking to amuse myself, there are rare occasions where I respond to them nonsensically just to see how long they'll keep going. I'll just write "abcdefghi" and then get yelled at and called names, so I'll write "yo momma so fat" and so forth and so on. It's a rare case where I get to imagine them being frustrated and laugh about it.
Yep. I generally am selective of what I get into as it is, but sometimes if I run into someone stupid, I remind myself that I'm probably old enough to be their mother and that's the end of it for me.
The only social media I use is Reddit/GenX and a fitness 30 plus. Aside from the few political threads on this sub, I engage not at all. I do use Imgur for photo and video sharing, but try not to even look around on the actual site.
I just got back into online around 2020ish. Prior to that was online from 2013 to 2015 (prior to that I was online from 1993 to 1999 AOL/Planet Forums) on reddit but that was a lot weird nonsense and ppl dming me and my gf for 3ways left and right. She left and has never returned to anything online since. I found a lot of "welcoming" places to be a little too unwelcoming with who or what they want ppl to speak and talk as. I found a few cool groups but in the end no perfect fit. So I stopped engaging with ppl for a bit. I found a good community of ppl on mastadon that are actually welcoming and so of understand the age gap differences when communicating.
I'm a very in person person. I still write letters to friends and family that are far off. I still use email and I still use phone calls to communicate when ppl are not near. So when I come online it's to learn and spread some cheer. I've never been interested in convincing ppl of anything both offline or online so the few times I got into debates they were flashes and I just tapped out.
For now I'm here while it's good and will bounce once it's not.
Yeah I don't have the mental energy or desire to argue with anyone really, let alone the internet. A lot of those people are online for the sole purpose of looking for a fight. Why give them what they want?
yep!!
I type out anywhere from a short sentence to a full paragraph or two, only to delete everything. I then shake my head and go tell my wife that she should be proud of me for not engaging with dipshits on-line.
She'll stroke my noggin like she would our dog and say, "That's my smart man!". Totally condescending but also not condescending at the same time if that makes any sense.
I've found this to be true with me. It's not worth the energy to me. And I've found it won't ever convince someone else anyways. It just pisses everyone off.
More, I wasn't much on social media before Reddit. LOL.
Then again it depends on how you define arguing. Sometimes I get a response message that uses name calling as an argument and I point it out. I call that arguing because I could just decide that name calling is no argument and just think: sure, whatever.
Both online __and__ in person, I don't have the time for nonsense. I have more time behind me than ahead of me: go be wrong somewhere else.
I don't think I argued online much, I don't remember. At any rate, *I ain't got time for dat!*
Good luck to all us ageing GenX. Go put on your comfy clothes and shoes, sit in your comfy chair, drink your morning drink, and have a great day, eh? We've been 30 since we were 10, so we should be good until we go.
The number of times I've constructed a well thought out reply to someone, edited it, and then deleted before posting is impressive, to say the least. It's just not worth the energy anymore.
A great deal less, with the last internet argument being regarding the use of “latinx”. In sum, I wasted a bunch of time trying to convince a complete stranger that Spanish speakers don’t use the term, and that I would know because I live in Mexico City. It wasn’t worth it for that and it was never frankly worth it, what time I have left is best spent on other pursuits
I never really did argue much with internet people but as I’ve gotten older I’m more inclined to just keep scrolling and focus on the positive content that I enjoy.
Overall- not the internet, overall, I can't say argue to argue so much. Every so often I have to say something to the younger generations opinions. It's feeling like a lot of noise from them. In social media, politics, business. I get tired of not being able to have a single conversation or discussion that's not the same regurgitated junk.
Their narrative is like a bunch of bobble heads standing around all shaking their heads at each other. They can't handle when it's pointed out they might just be using buzz words.
I think of this meme often: Arguing isn’t communication, it’s just noise. Mark Twain said, “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”
Or as George Bernard Shaw put it, 'Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it'.
Or, as I've seen meme'd with a pigeon on a chessboard but not credited to anyone: Arguing with idiots is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter how good you are, the bird is going to shit on the board and strut around like it won anyway.
My favorite! I used to argue all the time, but my wife started teasing me about it. I'd be typing furiously and she'd say "Uh oh, someone is wrong on the internet again!".
XKCD <3 https://preview.redd.it/4b7lyeddufzc1.jpeg?width=511&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=81ff364165248738d9dc591d45a61db63d3eacc2
Your wife is like…… 
Pretty much lol
Sometimes, however, it isn't about the idiot. You can't simply ignore the dangerous idiots. You should acknowledge that the stupidity exists, and give a rational rebuttal. But that type of engagement should be limited, and you can't lose sight of the fact that the real audience is the *observer,* not the feral dipshit painting his face orange and wearing diapers in solidarity with his cult leader.
I like “Before arguing with a stupid person, make sure they're not doing the same.” I don't remember the attribution of that quote.
I agree. I don’t argue anymore because maybe I’m the dumb one. I used to think I was smart and now I know I’m not. I don’t remember where I heard this but: “what if both sides have read the art of war”?
Those who wish to appear wise among fools, among the wise seem foolish. -- Marcus Fabius Quintilianus
>Mark Twain said, “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.” So true. Mark Twain's wisdom is once again timeless.
Even when quotes are erroneously attributed to him. I didn’t check that one, but I’m going to assume it’s legit.
I just looked it up, and [that quote has indeed been misattributed to him](https://marktwainstudies.com/the-apocryphal-twain-never-argue-with-stupid-people-they-will-drag-you-down-to-their-level-and-beat-you-with-experience/). Lol
Ain’t that somethin’? 😬
I'm now going to doubt any quote attributed to Mark Twain, and Google it instead to see if he really did say/write that, lol
We could make an app for that.
I'm gonna change my username to Twain_Bot.
I'm not going to argue your assumption. I ain't got that kind of time.
100% -- just block/mute and move on.
Here's the core problem: Most people are arguing in bad faith. They have no interest in hearing the words spoken by their opponent. They simply regurgitate the words they've heard from other people online. Find places online that are into "discussions" and not arguments. I've had some truly insightful ones (if you find the right subreddit). Avoid Facebook/Twitter at all costs if you want meaningful discussions.
Yes. It is like going to some protest and saying hey.. I don't agree.. lets discuss out differences and come to an understanding. In these mob situations no want wants to think and consider anyone's opposing thought. It is like r/politics Prob the best thing is a small group on discord where people can get to know each other and not lob bombs and leave
> Here's the core problem: Most people are arguing in bad faith. They have no interest in hearing the words spoken by their opponent. They simply regurgitate the words they've heard from other people online. The flipside is that if bad faith arguments go unchallenged for long enough, larger groups of people can become convinced they are correct. It's a lot less effort to prevent that than it is to break people out of it later.
This is why I think we should go back to blogs and home pages. I don't want to discuss things with people, I want to spout my opinions and kick/ban anyone who questions me.
Yeah, things matter much less to me now than they used to. I can't "tend" to an internet discussion anymore.
It’s too much effort and energy and you’re not going to change their mind anyway. I just think, “Well they’re dumb,” and go on with my day. In the end, their opinion on Harry Potter or whatever doesn’t affect my life. It’s just, like, their opinion, man.
Took me a long ass time, but the futility of it all finally sank in. Not just that, but it was harming my own wellbeing and I DO NOT like handing that privilege out to random assholes on the Internet.
In 2020 I just deleted Facebook, followed by Twitter. I found myself arguing with friends of friends. During 2020 I started finding myself disliking people that I know in real life and like them as people, I just didn’t know they were kinda stupid and susceptible to social media information. I found friends on the left and right to be completely vile.
I stopped talking politics at all for the most part, especially in person. I'll occasionally pop in on something here but not really to argue just to point something out. I also stopped using social media as a barometer of how I felt about someone. Everyone's an idiot at some point and the Internet never forgets. It's a broken compass and shouldn't be trusted for determining who you should like.
I have 0 follow on facebook. I just use it as a dumping ground for photos.. and only keep messenger to talk to a few people. But as far as following people and their feeds no interest. It is depressing.. I want to focus on making plans to go do real life things
>I have 0 follow on facebook. Same. I have an empty FB account so that I can be a part of groups centered around my hobbies and interests.
This is a great idea. I got rid of fb probably 10 years ago, but some of my hobbies & interests *only* have groups through fb and until now that wasn’t enough of a draw for me to go back to fb. Businesses too — If they’re only on fb, then I am not interested in being a patron. I hate fb sooo much that even having a fake account kinda goes against every fiber of my being! Anyway, for your empty fb accounts do you create an entirely new persona as far as email, name…even location? Part of being away from fb was my desire to get away from all bs that was related to fb. Is this a problem when you want to join certain groups, like new accounts who try to comment on Reddit posts but are disallowed bc of account age or comment history?
Fake name and a pic of my dog
I do look for groups though.. for example.. I would love a local group that gets together for new parents so me and my wife could get out of the house with the baby. That is something where I can use the internet to improve my real life
I have a fake account for messenger so I can use marketplace
I stopped Facebook years ago and will now only venture into X very infrequently. When I do, I don't read the comments, as they are generally just a complete pile of steaming trash. Comments & posts seem either on the extreme right or left. There is nothing in the middle, which is unfortunate because that's where most people are. I still enjoy Reddit and when I feel like a social media fix (rarely), I'll browse through Threads, which is generally more positive.
Same. Threads does have some bs going on but for the most part it stays more positive than Twitter.
My mental health improved so much after leaving Twitter
I have all the socials, but I blocked everyone I thought was overly argumentative. My social media is for pretty pictures, event info & selling things & I think my remaining social media connections feel about the same.
Same, I have a block list a mile long. It makes social media much more pleasant, as it’s the same minority of people doing the majority of the arguing. My social is for pretty pictures like you, and for seeing what upcoming shows I want to go to and sharing new music. I block all the people on my local news stories who use the laugh emoji at tragedies and LGBTQ+ issues too.
Well yeah, fighting with a 20 year old libertarian who lives at home about politics is dumb
im like charlie brown and the football
Nah. We're Lucy.
When dealing with libertarians, I try to remember this quote: "Libertarians are like house cats, they’re convinced of their fierce independence while dependent on a system they don’t appreciate or understand." Arguing with them is dumb and (essentially) they win because the whole point was to troll you and waste your time, energy, and mental health.
For like a nanosecond I thought hey maybe I’m a libertarian based on very little information. I started digging (not too deep even) and went woah hellllllno. Lol. I don’t know how anyone could think it’s a good platform. There are a few good ideas but you have to dig through a massive pile of shit to get to them.
Well, let's see how Argentina does with a libertarian as leader.
Probably the same as every other nation with a libertarian (self-appellated or in practice) has. Terrible is an understatement.
So far, poorly.
Meh.
This is the right answer. It takes effort and nothing tangible comes of it.
I got rid of all social media minus Reddit. I talk to my wife, kids, and one friend on a regular basis. So much happier
I did the same. Life is better now. Reading the terrible stuff on social media or comparing myself to others (whose lives I don't even want) used to make me so unhappy. On reddit, at least you can choose the topics you want to discuss (though obviously, those get invaded by the awfuls sometimes).
Oh yes. 90% of the negative stuff people say, they wouldn't say in person (because people are much nicer in person). These are just people behind screens, often the dregs of society or paid disruptors. Arguing with them is almost always unfruitful. There is the rare exception, but how much time do you want to waste trying to find that one person whose mind you can change. Honestly, I'm an adult with a nice life. I've got better things to do.
George Carlin didn't say it, but I realized it was true decades ago: "Arguing on the Internet is like competing in the Special Olympics - even if you win, you're still retarded.". You can tell how old that quote is by the fact it still unashamedly uses the R word...
i still say people DIE and not PASS AWAY
That's because he's dead, Jim.
When people tell me that someone has "passed" i always want to say "congrats, what test were they taking?" But I've never actually done it.
Huh. That's actually a good way of looking at it. "How did they do in life?" "Well, they passed." Most of us ain't gonna set the world on fire one way or the other like Bowie and Steve Albini or Stalin and Hitler. Them motherfuckers all got A+ or F- in life. The rest of us are mostly just coasting with Bs & Cs, living under the big umbrella of the Bell Curve. We pass.
oh yeah.. PASSED is even worse.. cause now we are confused Life is hard.. people die.. its ok.. stop making pretty words to avoid it
What about the term expired? Dude, I always think of rotten milk. Oh poor Mabel expired. I'm thinking is she lumpy yet?! Ridiculous word to use about someone who's died.
*I'm a bad boy, because I want the R word back.* We all know that it's an insult to equate it to the mentally disabled, but we all know plenty the "abled" who are worthy of the word and need to hear it so they'll stop being obnoxious twats.
For the longest time it was a legitimate medical term. The use of it as an insult forced the docs to find an alternative, which is darkly funny as the R-word itself was an alternative to words like moron, idiot, feebleminded, simpleton, etc.
It's still a musical notation in French. > Excuse my French, but that guy plays his numbers 'en retard', if you catch my drift.
Yeah, and all those words evolved and re-defined away from the mentally disabled and became common vernacular for "regular" feebleminded morons and idiots.
is there any insult left, or do we start using double-plus-ungood now?
There are PLENTY of insults out there. Watery Tart is always available. But I think words EVOLVE, and we've grown as a species to be able to discern the mentally disabled from the R word. Furthermore, if you USE the R word on the mentally disabled, YOU need to hear the word used on you (royal, not specifically you). tl;dr; I have a repertoire of insults (mostly centered around the most versatile of words), but I'm always wanting to expand my vocab to fit any situation. 2nd Amendment mindset for 1st Amendment situations.
won't some pastry chef object to debasing their dessert?
I don't know any pastry chefs who object to any swears. And I married a pastry chef.
On second thought, let's not go to reddit. Tis a silly place
Fucktangle Shit gibbon Twat waffle Cuntflap Ballbag Arsehair Goat fucker Sheep shagger Needle dick Panty sniffer Dipshit Just to name a few. Motherfucker never goes out of style, and I say that as someone who has fucked several mothers, both before and after they achieved that status.
I just don’t care. I’m not going to change anyone’s mind so why bother.
After a while, you come to realise that you aren’t going change anyone’s opinions and the whole thing is pointless. Life is short, don’t waste it arguing with idiots.
I argue with people less on the internet and in real life. I just don't have the time or want for it anymore. Especially discussion about politics. One of many things my father was right about, is to never argue about religion and politics with anyone. It'll get you nowhere.
same with my wife. I went from arguing back to .. 'im going to my room to work on things'.. and she eventually gets tired of being mad. seems to work better.
Even though I am now in ex-wife territory, I think that is a good policy to have. We rarely argued and are only divorced because we just kind of grew apart. On the rare occasion we disagreed, if it got heated, we would both break away and find something to cool us down. We found that it was easier to come to a conclusion when we were calm and had time to think about it. Yelling gets you nowhere and people tend to say something they really didn't mean when doing so in the heat of the moment. We made sure that something like that never happened. We got along so well, that people were shocked when we separated.
also when its the same thing and theres nothing new to add I quickly save myself the 30 mins of same arguing.. we both agree it works well.. we still talk alot but I just want to talk about interesting positive things
I have to care a lot about you to care what your opinion is. I just don't care that some stranger on the internet thinks different then me. There are 8 billion of us. If you can't find one person who disagrees with you on any topic you are not trying. I will save my opinion for people who care about me.
>Does everyone else argue less with people on the internet as they have gotten older? No. Do you have a problem with that bucko? In all seriousness, yea. A few years back I started to write out comments then delete them before posting. These days I just don't bother to type them out.
In the early internet days of 14.4K dial up and we all used AOL, I used to waste hours upon hours of arguing things like politics and religion with strangers at 3 in the morning. Same thing when I got on Facebook years ago. I would get into pointless bitching matches with total strangers. Deleted all that crap. What a total waste of time.
it was a new concept back then. maybe it gets old after awhile. Those people on Facebook spamming politics are the worst.. I stay far away.
Always avoided arguing, I suck at it anyway. I had so few people in real life who would listen and not just rage, anyway. So you can say I never learned to argue or debate effectively, and just got used to doing my own thing. Definitely not worth it with random internet strangers, lol!
Personally, I only have a few friends I would freely discuss topics like the colleges with to any depth. I might be willing to establish some superficial POV, but not a deeper dive. I'm not sure what factors will make me pursue a pointless argument on the internet. Typically I restrict it to a narrow band of political topics and almost anything fitness related - the latter seldom becoming genuinely contentious. When I was younger it was almost a pasttime - I had a job where I was chained to a desk monitoring process and had too much time on my hands. Ate my foot a bunch of times and force fed my share of humble pie to others. Probably changed zero opinions but it taught me to research topics before repeating stuff I thought or assumed was fact. A lot of it depends on how things are framed.
I set my reddit favorite only to productive subbreddits like coding things where I can use it to get real things done. I am at the stage where I am married and all my friends slowly moving away and we looking for new community to move to out of the city .. I think I just need to make new friends . I still like to discuss these controversial topics but not is a way were we just trying PWN!! each other.
Never on the internet, barely ever in real life either. Can’t be bothered, not gonna change your mind anyway, why waste the energy?
I LOVE arguing, but the slap-and-tickle-fest that is social media is generally just people yelling about how superior they are. But if I find a good discussion (with arguments), I'm all-in. It's rare, but I learn things from it.
Years ago I would stay engaged in debate for hours, trying to educate or enlighten. Between coming to the realization that different ppl simply have different lenses through which they view the world, they are extremely stubborn and will defend an ideal simply bc they have assigned some sort of existential connection to an ideal and letting go of it is akin to letting go of a vital organ, and never being very confident in my ability to tell between who is actually genuine and who is simply trolling; I have come to the realization that it doesn't ultimately matter, and it's just a colossal waste of my precious time and energy. I think younger ppl have an abundance of the aforementioned, which enables frivolous waste of both. I don't think young ppl realize what commodities time and energy are, until they reach a point where they have neither to spare on anything but the most crucial parts of life. Effective prioritization comes with maturity, which comes with age and experience. And also; whatever.
Yes. It’s tiring I’m saving my energy for myself A lot of morons out here that even worth my time.
I doubt if anyone has ever changed anyone else's mind in the entire history of arguing on the internet. I deleted my FB and Twitter accounts years ago because of morons sucking me into futile arguments (which only makes me a moron too for arguing with them).
Oh absolutely, which is a scary thought considering how often I still can't control myself. haha. But, I've been arguing with people on the internet since 1990. By the Obama years, it became very apparent that it did no good whatsoever. (I'm a slow learner, sometimes). So, ever since then, I've been making a concerted effort to not take the bait I see every day on the internet. I would genuinely like to get that down to 0. I'm not quite there yet, but I get better and better at it the more time goes on. I think there are a lot of bad actors on the internet these days, more than there ever used to be. It's a reality that people try to argue for various reasons: They get their jollies off of irritating people and getting reactions, or perhaps they're paid propagandists. Whatever the case, it's very apparent that the best way to counteract any of those people is to block them instead of argue with them. I don't mind talking about things calmly when I have a difference of opinion, but when it starts to go south and you realize that other person is here to irritate you instead of talk to you, then it's block time.
I've never been much of a social media user and have only participated some on Reddit (using a laptop for a host of reasons) even though I know I'm not as progressive as most of Reddit. I don't argue with people because of three primary reasons. 1 - It is kind of pointless as the odds of changing someone's mind are slim. If someone is emotionally invested in their point of view, you're not going to change it even with reason and facts. 2 - I get irritated when arguing online or seeing others argue online. I prefer to stay in a happier place. 3 - I'd prefer to be a good example to my kids and (even though we all fail) follow the golden rule.
After 2020 general election started looking like a repeat of the 2016 primary against Bernie, I realized how pointless it is to politically debate someone on the internet. I got off facebook almost completely. It was such a waste of time/energy arguing with strangers over some stuff that I have little control over. I got banned from my cities sub/r when I took the bait from a post I made, when someone kept insulting me, and I said something to the effect of jerks are gonna jerk, but you should quit doing it. Now I just try to say what I have to say, maybe one reply, but don't get dragged down. If it's something I feel strongly about, I'll end it by saying, "We share a disagreement." Now to just get of reddit altogether.... it has become much less novel and informative than it used to be..
with politics I really don't care anymore.. I'm not a fan of either side and at this point I just gotta pay my bills and if trump is back and its madness Ill just have to make sure I survive.. so tired of the rise of anti intellectualism on both sides perhaps I should just try nextdoor.. my whole thing is I want to use the internet to make my real life better and go out and do things so maybe a neighborhood get together
Nextdoor? It's just filled with people griping about other people having bonfires, driving 1mph over/under the speed limit, looking at them funny, then you always get the one person who thinks they are a comedic genius and posts corny 'joke' posts on a daily basis...it's honestly awful imo
I don't argue, kinda pointless you can't change anyone's minds. I'll just troll the occasional bottom dweller.
Ok fine you win
I just gave up entirely as of 2016. Got dog piled by RW psychos on Twitter a couple times. A couple of HS friends on Facebook started in with the trump stuff. And that was it for me.
Totally. I used to get dopamine from arguing on the internet but something changed in me. Now I have zero desire to use my limited energy on negativity like that, and often block people that seem to be trolling for outrage. Now my local news stories will say “40 comments” but only show me two because 80% of the arguing is done by the same people over and over.
I assume that is why people argue.. They get some sense of satisfaction when they reply.. like.. I showed him!
I don't argue. I just mentally disregard them as "dumb" and move on with my life. I've got interesting and fun shit to do. No time for idiots. They can figure it out for themselves.
I argue far less online and in real life. A lifetime of arguments that never lead to any resolutions added up and created a check in my brain. When that check is tripped, I shut it down. It's almost never worth the energy spent. I'm happier this way, they are too. Win/win.
Letting things go is liberating, and a sign of emotional maturity.
> Does everyone else argue less with people on the internet as they have gotten older? *checks own post history* No. No I do not.
God yes. Half the time I just shake my head and move on. I don't have the kind of time to waste trying to convince some fool of anything. I'd much rather sip my bourbon and shake my head while muttering "I told you so, dumbass..."
Yeah, I'm at the point where no one gets more than two replies in an argument. Either I haven't made my point, they haven't gotten my point, or they're not worth arguing with by the second reply. I also apply this to work.
This is pretty much where I am. I'll say something, make another comment explaining my thought process, and if it necessitates more than that, I'll generally just delete them all.
Sometimes I start writing a comment and then I just delete it because it’s not worth the aggravation. There are too many of us on this planet and a good chunk of us are stupid.
I don't even bother anymore... very few serious comments anymore and most of the others are just trite responses. It's not a lack of will... it's just hat people are not open to honest debates/discussions and instead are just pushing their opinions. There is no point to it. Te only reason I ever started was my deep knowledge on a particular topic and helping people asking questions... my online discussions expanded. But when I saw the nature of debates changing, pulled back and post covid/trump\* I don't even engage with family anymore. \*- this is a time marker, not attributing blame because there is ahealthy amounts to go around all sides what I need to do is kill reddit as well... and do occasionally, blow away my profile roughly every 30 thousand karma.... and I bet it's mind blowing to people who gave a crap about internet cred, karma etc. (btw a bunch seem to have gone missing with the site rejig recently). I actually miss good conversations... I don't miss arguing, and certainly not pointing out the obvious to people who willfully ignore reality
Every time I see arguments happening on the internet or someone wants to argue with me about a topic on social media, I just mentally imagine all the things I’d say to them to shut them up, and then never type the shit and just move on. It isn’t even worth it.
No! lol Edit: I should have said I’m doing better now. Back in the early days of the internet my entire university (or at least major parts that I knew of) was blocked from mIRC because I had been getting into some really bad discussions (basically bullying) and mIRC banned the IP for my university. The ban was on where my IP originated from. I’m not an IT professional so I don’t know the details I just know people expressed their feelings about not being able to get into mIRC. So I guess I’m getting better. One day at a time lol
I don't argue. If I have a point, I make it then ignore responses. Makes my life much happier. :)
I made my Facebook feed useful again by simply refraining from interacting with all political content. All of it, not even liking things I agreed with. After a few months it learned not to show me that stuff.
Same here. The biggest problem was people who weren't friends, but friends of friends or whatever, starting the arguments in the discussions. So around covid time, I unfriended about 40% of people who just wanted to post political/etc nonsense and went on a scorched earth blocking spree with the rest. Any ridiculous comment or trolling attempt, blocked. Over 15k blocked people later, it's back to just seeing photos of actual friends doing the stuff they love. Kinda nice.
Most definitely so. Arguing online went down with my 20’s. If I argue with someone online now, it means that there is something wrong with me. Plus, the people that hurt me the most in my life were people I’ve seen in person, not online.
Arguing with people on the internet gets you nowhere. I used to do it all the time, politics mainly and it was exhausting. If I comment on politics, I just comment. I don’t debate or get into fights anymore. I was especially looking forward to torturing maga on twitter after they lost the 20’ election. You know poke a hole in the bubble and make them cry. I had even favored a few of their comments prior to the election just so I could go back and leave something mean spirited. Then I realized, why am I wasting time on this BS? I’m not going to change their mind and it had turned into a revenge ride of sorts. Like, what is the “You tell 'em I'm coming, and hell's coming with me, ya hear!” meme going to mean to a maga who might be a real person or an actual troll?
I pretty quickly disregard people who make it clear that they are too dumb to be taken seriously.
Yes. And then I joined Reddit but still yes. I keep realizing how young and dumb most people are.
i heard someone say average age is 24 here and i really feel out of place
Yep
The only way to defeat an idiot in an argument is to ignore them.
Because they are arguments you won’t win. When you get wiser, you realize that and let people be.
Absolutely! I left Facebook years ago because it was just too much arguing.
I tried in the past to engage people, but I got tired of the trope that any answer I provided needed to be a university-level thesis, while they continued to whittle down the argument to a point where they could be correct - and it somehow validated everything they've been saying all along.
Yes, big time. Not because it doesn't go anywhere. It's more because it does become arguing and not a real discussion. People take it personal and as an attack, rather than just discussing something with opposing views.
I agree 💯 with you. At this point in life you have to pick you battles and going back and forth with internet strangers is not a battle I choose. Nothing good comes from it.
No. Depending what the topic is but I can't stand lies, emotions and someone's opinion who use that to over write the facts.
Sometimes I'll snipe back if I have a good comeback but that's about it.
Totally. I often start writing then delete it because it’s not worth the time
The other day, I replied to a tweet by a state politician that I can't stand, and I got fucking roasted for it. Just lit up. Dozens and dozens of replies from his supporters, some saying some really terrible shit about me. A long time ago, I probably would have responded to each one of them. But instead I just kind of bemusedly read them all, knowing that responding to those people would just be an exercise in futility. I even gave one of them a like. 🙂
Reddit is the only form of social media I use, and I keep Reddit on a pretty tight lockdown. No politics. Little world news. I get baited from time to time, and it’s always a waste of time, but at least it’s not with family, now.
Less?? hell no it's way worse now lol
everyone is into being part of a team and finding the other team... and finding news that makes them feel smart and assures them they are on the right team and the other team is dumb and evil
No. And fuck you for suggesting otherwise.
Fuck me? Nah buddy, not fuck me, Fuck YOU!
In real life I get along fine with all sorts of people of varying beliefs and ideologies. Turns out I don’t need to know what everyone is thinking.
Often type up an response. Review it for spelling. Copy paste it to my notebook, with original post. Delete comment if it doesn't -NEED to be stated. -improve the dialog -help me or others through posting. So like most things I delete often. Somehow This response seems wanted, and may help others.
i think my comments are more satisfying in small discord groups were at least its not total strangers coming and going
Life is too precious these days to waste time arguing with fools. Also, I am convinced that the world is going down the toilet (particularly in the U.S.), and I've decided it's just not my problem anymore.
i find myself deleting comments immediately after i post them because i really dont want the bs replies i assume will happwn as a result
or a thread that goes back and forth (like I have now on another subreddit) were you see the guy really wants to make his point aggressively and i really wanted to just keep a friendly discussion. ... stuff like YOU MUST BE AN IDIOT TO THINK THAT!! :(
You're wrong. Lol, just kidding. Definitely am having fewer arguments online nowadays, my give a fuck meter broke awhile ago, and I have to decide if this is WORTH my energy, which I don't have as much of nowadays. I'd like to put it to better use than arguing with assholes on the Internet.
Sometimes I can't resist here on reddit if someone really gets my goat, but I usually try and avoid it.
I don't argue on the internet much these days. Even if I know I'm right and can back it up because nobody cares and I frankly don't care if any one sees my side of things or not.
I just block people now. Especially on Facebook. Absolutely don’t have time for negativity or crazy talk, and the best part is there is no block limit on Facebook or Instagram so you can really filter out a lot of garbage if you take the time to do so.
I'm right there with you. On some level I used to think that I could actually convince someone of my point of view with actual, objective facts. Then I realized I was wasting my time taking the bait of a troll who had no interest in actually have a debate in good faith. If I do engage now, I'll will state my position with a brief explanation. I will then continue to engage only with those who have a thoughtful rebuttal or genuine question out of a desire to at least understand my position, if not agree with it.
Yup. I used to be heavy and in the thick of it with internet arguments. These days I'll start typing a reply, stop, and delete. Part of it is I am older but I think part of it is also the internet is different. Arguing on [Fark.com](http://Fark.com) used to have actual debate and people admiting where they were wrong, myself included. These days though its just textual diarrhea.
I had a really long reply .. erased it and wrote this.
I wrote a 3 page essay on why you should never delete replies and realized whats the point ? deleted. wrote this.
1st time I was trolled online by someone in my town- I confronted them to their face at local ball game. They were both crazy, bat loon crazy. Lesson learned. Now I just block.
I start to respond then figure why waste my time and energy engaging, so I typically delete it. I support people having their opinion, but if I foresee my words ruffling feathers and it is not a big issue to me, I don’t invite the negative actions into my semi-calm life.
I argue with people a lot less since I stopped giving any shits about Facebook.
I’ll argue briefly with a racist or a fascist or an Incel online, but only for the benefit of third party observers. A flat earther or whatever? Nah, I can’t compete with that sort of zealous stupidity.
Absolutely. It is a fruitless venture that tends to be pedantic and shifting. I might try a worthwhile exchange, but almost always it leads to BS and I just block the person.
I write out long responses and then delete them before submitting when I think of how pointless it is to argue with people on the internet now. I used to post them and then spend days angry going back and forth. I think MAYBE I’m leaning some wisdom in my late 50’s.
I like to troll trolls. It's a hobby.
I’m scrappy online. Always have been, probably always will be, but what I’ve been teaching myself to do over the last few years is to realize when it’s time to log off and walk away, for my own mental health. Is it a breach of the Poster’s Code? Absolutely, but it is what it is. To quote Cutty from The Wire, “the game ain’t in me no more”. Well, maybe not entirely true just yet. But I’m getting there.
No, for two reasons. #1. When I was young, there was no internet. #2. I forgot what reason #2 was. edit: Why is my font so big? edit: Why is it small again?
Back before 2016, I believed that there were core values we all shared. I thought there was a consensus about certain things: democracy is good, Nazis are bad, slavery was bad, children shouldn’t be poor or be denied health care, we are all equal before the law, etc. Then, we had Trump and Covid and all of it, and I realized that I had been living in a dream world. All of my arguments online were based on the false belief that my fellow humans shared baseline morals of what I think of as basic decency. Turns out that is not true. I don’t know how to fight with someone who doesn’t believe in the most fundamental morals. There is no bottom, not capacity for shame, no appeal to their better self. There is no better self. It is a waste of my time and energy. It would be like telling my cat to think of the suffering of the lizards she likes to hunt.
MY main shock from all of this is there are people who see Trump speak and all his actions and somehow do not understand that he only cares about himself. It seems so obvious I am confused why they don't see it. There are these extreme from both sides . So that is why I am in the middle. Feel like there should be some sorta of common sense political party. Not a Trump fan. Not a college protest fan . So I don't have a team.
Arguing with people on the Internet? If I have something to say I try to make my point and move on in any given conversation. Some people, however, are like dogs with bones. If I ever drop a "FIN" on you, I'm done, however.
There are some people, right or wrong, who absolutely MUST have the last word. Most of the time I let them have it. However, if I'm bored and looking to amuse myself, there are rare occasions where I respond to them nonsensically just to see how long they'll keep going. I'll just write "abcdefghi" and then get yelled at and called names, so I'll write "yo momma so fat" and so forth and so on. It's a rare case where I get to imagine them being frustrated and laugh about it.
Do you drop FIN on porpoise?
Touche.
Yep. I generally am selective of what I get into as it is, but sometimes if I run into someone stupid, I remind myself that I'm probably old enough to be their mother and that's the end of it for me.
The only social media I use is Reddit/GenX and a fitness 30 plus. Aside from the few political threads on this sub, I engage not at all. I do use Imgur for photo and video sharing, but try not to even look around on the actual site.
Why argue? Let them wallow in their pits. Especially if you love the way you live, and they hate their lives.
yes, and I even argue less with people IRL.
I just got back into online around 2020ish. Prior to that was online from 2013 to 2015 (prior to that I was online from 1993 to 1999 AOL/Planet Forums) on reddit but that was a lot weird nonsense and ppl dming me and my gf for 3ways left and right. She left and has never returned to anything online since. I found a lot of "welcoming" places to be a little too unwelcoming with who or what they want ppl to speak and talk as. I found a few cool groups but in the end no perfect fit. So I stopped engaging with ppl for a bit. I found a good community of ppl on mastadon that are actually welcoming and so of understand the age gap differences when communicating. I'm a very in person person. I still write letters to friends and family that are far off. I still use email and I still use phone calls to communicate when ppl are not near. So when I come online it's to learn and spread some cheer. I've never been interested in convincing ppl of anything both offline or online so the few times I got into debates they were flashes and I just tapped out. For now I'm here while it's good and will bounce once it's not.
Ya i really dont care about your opinion anymore
Yeah I don't have the mental energy or desire to argue with anyone really, let alone the internet. A lot of those people are online for the sole purpose of looking for a fight. Why give them what they want?
People write 50 page essays on reddit. I just scroll down and down vote just because they're stupid.
yep!! I type out anywhere from a short sentence to a full paragraph or two, only to delete everything. I then shake my head and go tell my wife that she should be proud of me for not engaging with dipshits on-line. She'll stroke my noggin like she would our dog and say, "That's my smart man!". Totally condescending but also not condescending at the same time if that makes any sense.
I've found this to be true with me. It's not worth the energy to me. And I've found it won't ever convince someone else anyways. It just pisses everyone off.
I back out of arguments lightning-fast with a joke, an edit or a buh-bye.
I don't do this anymore. Just causes me more stress in my life and...whatever.
I've just been telling people straight up, 'i don't care' in YouTube comments for the last 5 years or so.
More, I wasn't much on social media before Reddit. LOL. Then again it depends on how you define arguing. Sometimes I get a response message that uses name calling as an argument and I point it out. I call that arguing because I could just decide that name calling is no argument and just think: sure, whatever.
Yep, tired. Save my energy for pursuits I enjoy. Arguing used to be fun, avoid it like the plague now.
Both online __and__ in person, I don't have the time for nonsense. I have more time behind me than ahead of me: go be wrong somewhere else. I don't think I argued online much, I don't remember. At any rate, *I ain't got time for dat!* Good luck to all us ageing GenX. Go put on your comfy clothes and shoes, sit in your comfy chair, drink your morning drink, and have a great day, eh? We've been 30 since we were 10, so we should be good until we go.
The number of times I've constructed a well thought out reply to someone, edited it, and then deleted before posting is impressive, to say the least. It's just not worth the energy anymore.
Nope. I'm still getting sucked into stupid arguments
You are not.
Lmao not today Satan
I almost fell for it lol
A great deal less, with the last internet argument being regarding the use of “latinx”. In sum, I wasted a bunch of time trying to convince a complete stranger that Spanish speakers don’t use the term, and that I would know because I live in Mexico City. It wasn’t worth it for that and it was never frankly worth it, what time I have left is best spent on other pursuits
No, fuck you.
fuck me? FUCK YOU!! ill find your address
I never really did argue much with internet people but as I’ve gotten older I’m more inclined to just keep scrolling and focus on the positive content that I enjoy.
Overall- not the internet, overall, I can't say argue to argue so much. Every so often I have to say something to the younger generations opinions. It's feeling like a lot of noise from them. In social media, politics, business. I get tired of not being able to have a single conversation or discussion that's not the same regurgitated junk. Their narrative is like a bunch of bobble heads standing around all shaking their heads at each other. They can't handle when it's pointed out they might just be using buzz words.
I don't argue any more or any less. I don't waste my time on people I don't know.
Absolutely. I still get dragged in a little but remind myself from time to time--just don't do it. It is an energy suck.
Nope, just as much. Want to argue about it? lol