On a regular weekday, weekend, or trip on the subway, you're innocently scrolling through various news feeds and eagerly taking in all the updates from people with better lives doing adventurous things.
However, what about during election year when all your friends want to do is yell about why Hillary should be in jail, or how they've given up on America since Bernie lost? Or perhaps during the heat of a racial disturbance across the nation?
Things get very heated, very quickly and sometimes you don't even realize how deeply you have invested in convincing random people that your opinion is gold. What about taking the passive approach and living out your convictions? Here's 7 reasons why you shouldn't join in on the mad arguing.
1. You won't win.
Remember that time when you saw someone start a heated argument about the origin of the universe and ended up fully convincing the other person to the point of a virtual handshake and “Farewell?” Yeah. Neither does anyone else. That’s because most of the time both parties think they’re right, and are not going to give in simply because of a few heated sentences in ALL CAPS.
2. All your friends will hate you.
Fighting with your buddies online is just childish. Let’s face it, Taylor Swift and Kanye West weren’t ever (ever, ever) going to be friends, but their online squabbles completely crushed any possibility of making up. The biggest difference is you probably won’t make millions on a song about the time you argued about the presidential election. There's no upside.
3. You're wasting precious time.
I get it, something like the amount of litter scattered across the planet by humans is appalling, but instead of taking action with your keyboard, go outside and clean up a local park. Arguing your case online is never a superior method when compared to raw, uninhibited action towards really changing the world.
4. You look like an idiot.
You know that guy in the restaurant that yells at his waiter, complains about everything from the food to the interior, makes a huge mess and leaves a bad tip? That’s you. Online. No one likes that guy.
5. Don’t judge lest ye be judged.
When you share your unabashed opinions online, people will see them and *gasp* make snap judgments about you and your character. Now, we know you're flawless, but consider how one-sided social media can be. If you have conversations about important topics in person, you have the opportunity to plead your case with raw emotion and character that can’t be translated perfectly online.
6. Drama Drama Drama.
Believe it or not, arguing your case online is stressful! All that comment refreshing, re-posting of your auto-correct mistakes and yelling “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” at your cellular device (in public) can really take a toll on your mental health. Save all that dramatic energy for a late night Netflix binge of "Pretty Little Liars" (or whatever you fancy). Priorities, am I right?
7. That's simply not what it was created for.
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter were not originally intended for use as verbal boxing rings. Rather, a place for people to connect all over the world and share their adventures. So cool off, pour yourself a glass of ice cold lemonade, and refrain from mucking up cyberspace with endless paragraphs of bickering. There is so much to live and see, go wander!
