Recently, I was chatting with my girlfriend, and she said that for her, the phone is a tool that can help her relax and unwind, by watching interesting videos and browsing interesting content. However, she gradually found that the more she watched, the more anxious she became, especially on certain social platforms. On the other hand, I also spend a considerable amount of time on my phone and social platforms every day, but I rarely experience anxiety. Upon comparison, I realized that my girlfriend enjoys or tends to argue with others. Information overload can also cause psychological anxiety.
Weibo and Bilibili are the two apps she often uses, and they are also her way of following and understanding the news. However, the content on these platforms varies greatly. So-called "big Vs" intentionally post content with provocative nature in order to gain attention and traffic. At such times, the comment section becomes a battlefield. Some people support the blogger, while others oppose both the blogger and those who support them. Some oppose the opposing views... Amidst this back and forth, a war without gunpowder quietly unfolds.
The reason for arguing with others?
If the other party's viewpoint has obvious factual errors, I believe it is reasonable to argue with them. However, if you are only arguing with them to make them agree with your viewpoint, it is inappropriate and unnecessary.
Why do we like to argue with others on platforms like Twitter, Weibo, and Bilibili? I found an explanation in the book "Cognitive Awakening" that I read this month. The book mentions that our brain is composed of the instinctive brain, emotional brain, and rational brain. The instinctive and emotional brains develop earliest and are the most powerful, while the rational brain develops relatively later and is weaker. Therefore, when judging and dealing with certain things, the instinctive and emotional brains often overpower the rational brain. So when we act impulsively, others might say, "Why are you so irrational?"
Seeing different viewpoints on the platform may create an impulse to refute the other party, I think it may be a case of emotions or instincts overcoming reason.
I also found several reasons online (The Low Down), roughly as follows:
As part of personal self-defense
To get the attention of someone
To seek power and control over others
To get respect from others
Narcissistic โ Always feel and believe that they are far more superior than others and therefore they consider most people not as
Upon careful consideration, one will realize that they are the ones who are crazy, while the ones who emerge from the argument are the intelligent ones.
Come out of the argument
We need to understand clearly that you cannot change closed-minded people.
We can have reasonable arguments, but if the other party's goal is to prove you wrong, you won't be able to convince them. Whether it's in the comments section of your own content or someone else's, they are not interested in having a productive discussion, but rather in arguing just to win.
In my impression, the comment section is just a tool to help me understand different perspectives, where people with different values express their opinions, which happens to showcase different ways of perceiving the world. Therefore, I won't engage in their arguments, but I will simply, albeit rarely, share my own views.
At the same time, it is important to realize that when you engage in debates impulsively and try to persuade others emotionally, it is often the platform or the instigators of the debate who win, as they achieve their goals. After taking over Twitter, Musk began sharing advertising revenue with creators. The higher your views, the higher your income, so you will find that there is an increasing amount of controversial content on Twitter, some of which is very deliberate and obvious, with the mentality of "the more you criticize me, the more money I make."
The advice I gave to my girlfriend is to skim through information and watch videos, even if she wants to think, she should focus on herself and not waste time arguing with others.
If you have your own ideas, the best way is to think more and find more relevant content. Express your views in a long article, which doesn't have to be published on a public platform. It's fine to keep it on your phone. At this time, the purpose of expressing your views is not to argue with others or persuade them, but to let yourself think independently, settle your thoughts, and benefit yourself.
Finally, I think I can end this article with a passage I saw yesterday
People still need to have a specific life. Go out, go downstairs, go to the street, go into nature, feel the wild wind, see people, see animals, touch the flowers, plants, and trees. Cannot close the door in the internet war windmill. People will go bad.