When it’s late at night sometimes I get bored and scroll though Facebook mindlessly. And then I see a status that has 50+ responses. And suddenly the night gets was more interesting.

Social media arguments are by far the most entertaining kind of arguments. People follow the responses back and forth like a Ping Pong match. The winner is determined when one party, out of things to say, just stops replying. That’s the good thing about arguing via Internet; you can always pretend you “just fell asleep” and were unable to respond. If you did that in real life, people would just think you were narcoleptic.

Getting into debates on a Facebook thread has become a pretty common occurrence, especially as we get older and develop opinions on heavy topics like politics or religion. And, hey, the Facebook page is yours, right? You can say whatever the heck you want, right?

Sure. Of course you can.

But be prepared for the backlash. Because even though you may think you’re high and mighty and everyone else is entitled to their wrong opinions make no mistake; there will be people who disagree with you.

And simply because they’re questioning your authority, the first thing you’ll want to do is completely denounce them as an idiot and defend your point of view. There’s nothing wrong with this if you fully believe you’re right. Annihilate your enemy. With a well backed up argument. If you’re just doing it to be rude, stay off the internet. Don’t be that guy.

But I encourage you to actually read a response that you get. Think about it. Ponder it. Could they be making a point?

This doesn’t apply to those posts that say “Ur wrong” or “That’s a stupid idea.” No. Forget those people. If they can’t spell “you’re” they shouldn’t have an opinion on politics anyway.

But the well thought out responses; actually look at those.

And be mindful of what you say in reply. Because even though you don’t know it, for every one person who actually types something out in response there are 20 reading it from the sidelines who just aren’t speaking up and making their presence known.

If you’re there throwing out responses that make absolutely no sense and are just completely ignorant, believe me, we’re laughing at you, not with you.

I still think educated and good-natured debates should take place in person. It helps you think on your toes. It gets you good at talking with people who may not have the same view as you. For every disagreement you have you can’t always hide behind a computer (but perhaps you could become narcoleptic?). And you’re just talking to one person, not putting on a show for the world
to see.

But if you must argue on Facebook, if it just makes you feel good inside, have at it. And keep in mind that the Internet is watching.

Deraleau is a sophomore majoring in journalism.