As someone who is entirely burnt out of arguing with strangers online at 26 it continues to mystify me to see people who do it all day, seemingly with the belief it isn’t entirely fruitless, and have like adult kids
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
For me more than arguing it's still useful to formulate my thoughts on a matter, to be able to get a point across in a couple of sentences or in a funny way.
I say my bit, mute the thread and move on. That said no point in even responding to the worst chuds.
I was chatting online with an old guy who seemed really decent, polite, engaged, and knowledgeable. We disagrees on a lot but not aggressively. Suddenly, when I brought up Trump, he jumped in with "What's the matter? Gonna cry??!" This dude was maybe 60 yrs old. What's wrong with people?!
I don't do it nearly as much, but back in 2020 I'd argue with anyone I could find. Still do it today but it won't go more than 2 responses before I tell them to kill themselves and leave. It's a rush in a way and that's why people do it
People are frustrating. I'd rather mock & annoy someone with a shitty take rather than actually argue. Stupid rarely understands things like logic & facts. While you may lose an argument with a smart person, you always lose against stupid. They drag you to their level & beat you with experience.
Interesting question, but I'm going to suggest that we didn't really have access to "online" in the modern, social media sense any earlier than younger people. Like, the big mainstream platforms that incentivized argument started circa 200X for everyone, right?
oh i do it for me. it is self care to drop an essay, unlabeled sarcasm, or a straightforward insult and just not look at notifications. gives me power.
I think it's really difficult to determine when it's fruitful and when it isn't, so eventually most people fall to one extreme or another, whether it's disengaging entirely, or, in my case, finding it nearly impossible to pick your battles properly
i really cant stand this one person who literally spent all day arguing with terfs on twitter, inadvertently making their followers read all this hideous transphobic shit. nice dunk dude glad i got to read this shit.
Sometimes I do it not to change the other person’s mind necessarily, but to correct misinformation and provide clarity for those following along. I have been told this has helped these bystanders get a more balanced view of an issue. But is it the best use of my time? Probably not.
I'm 31 I've been doing it since I was a wee lad, I guess you just weren't built for those streets snd honestly that's fine, you don't miss anything that's for sure lmao
It's a fun thing to do when you're young and open to all ideas. Healthy even. But after a certain point debating age of consent laws becomes exhausting.
the guys that got really into it not understanding that Brooklyn Dad or whoever was getting paid six figures to post "y'all votin' for Bernie are in the KKK"
My dad just started doing this. Has 30-year-old kids and tells us about some fb argument he got in every other time we come over. He like revels in it, though I remember having similar feelings getting into it online with people over politics at ~16. Got no energy for that now.
I had a friend who would do it constantly. I eventually tried to talk to him about it and he admitted to me he actually enjoyed doing it. I'll never understand that, but I hope he's doing better now.
I on the other hand find it to be refreshing to see people standing up for their beliefs in such a passionate fashion. I don’t think you’re burnt out about it all either. Do you have anything to say to this in response?
Every time I think about spending more time arguing on the internet, I think about the fact that in a conversation about raw milk, a proponent told me that facts would never change her mind.
I used to do it a LOT more, but frankly I think the bot problem is a lot worse than ppl realize. It just became cringe to talk about cuz the russiagate thing
I thought it is worthwhile to argue sincerely and show how my values align with data to support a position, even if only for the benefit of some lurker. But I think people just wanna own someone with an epic clap back and move on to the next target.
I got burnt out of arguing with strangers online after having one (1) argument when I first joined twitter. Firmly believe that anyone who doesn't react this way has something wrong with them.
I know I've got enough things wrong with me, but I'm not really sure that wanting to talk about stuff with people who disagree with me is a surefire sign of that
I credit a decade plus of fighting on an anonymous mom board about the stupidest possible topics. By the time social media came into existence, I had gotten it completely out of my system, thank god.
i have a couple twitter mutuals that do this and i've never seen it actually result in anything meaningful, it's always just two people being mad at eachother with zero intention of deviating from their position
I think maybe having kids makes you too accustomed to having constant arguments that go nowhere with someone who can't use reason but I might be biased since my kid's a toddler
On the bright side, you now have a great many years to enjoy not arguing with internet lunatics. Think of it as getting it out of the way and moving on to better things.
the only place i can see it being useful is properly moderated, painstakingly sculpted kind & respectful communities, built to actually try to figure stuff out, & not as a spectacle or even to convince your opponent, just to practice good rhetoric & be exposed to other ideas, that aren't bigoted ofc
personally, it feels more like screaming into the ether, less expecting it to bear fruit
like, sometimes I just wanna tell someone who doesn't think I deserve fundamental human rights to eat concrete, then immediately hit the Mute Thread button
adult kids who cut them off and sent them spiraling into the echo chamber of Gen x/boomers who all say to each other "My kids UNFAIRLY abandoned me! Nothing we can do about it! We were too soft on them, if anything. Nothing is our fault."
I recently got in a tumblr spat in a way I have not in years and I just wanna say, it felt like trying to box my way out of a very public exhibition fight against a much younger and more fit opponent. You wouldn’t think that 27 was the cutoff for continuing in the sport of fruitless beefing, but
my gfs family is relatively offline but they do this with their kids all the time irl. like they cant complete a conversation or watch a movie without diverting into a completely pointless factual argument. true posters souls which is why no one talks to them anymore lol
I've been a rage addict all my life (thanks, childhood trauma), but seriously started getting it under control when it lost me a girlfriend I truly adored. It's been ohhh 9 years now? and it's an issue still, but mostly managed. Rage addiction is a motherfucker.
Usually these genx/boomers are such miserable people that online arguments are their only meaningful social contact as they've driven everyone out of their life
It's for the thrill of it. And I have four children. One a step child adult (three rat bois and one kitty). Sometimes you just gotta direct that justified rage at someone ya know. Bloodsports in the thunderdome.
Exactly. As if life wasn't hard enough, and there weren't enough jackasses IRL.
Why the hell would I want to be part or promote that in social media too?
these people have sick and perverse urges. the last time i enjoyed getting into fights with people online was when i was a literal teenager on newgrounds forums
Comments
I say my bit, mute the thread and move on. That said no point in even responding to the worst chuds.
They don't deserve more of my time after that.
Arguing online can work and influence people.
Although the way it works on Twitter (and twitter analogs) is probably not ide
whether it's developmental, cultural, or the influence of leaded gasoline who can say
1) Never get into an argument you're not sure you can win.
2) Never get into an argument with a complete dunce who won't understand when they've lost
like, sometimes I just wanna tell someone who doesn't think I deserve fundamental human rights to eat concrete, then immediately hit the Mute Thread button
*winning not determined by convincing anyone of anything, it's merely the feeling of saying things that seem true or clever and experiencing catharsis
Why the hell would I want to be part or promote that in social media too?