Lexi Letterman
Lantern Staff
Because of social media, we are exposed to more information than previous generations, along with a platform to express our opinions. Through news and political happenings that are discovered through these mediums, we are bound to come across someone who has an opinion that we disagree with. It is easy to come across these situations online.
However, conflict is not resolved by handling these discussion on these highly public platforms. The conversations seen are evidence, and this has now even been proved through some new scientific findings by an experiment done at UC Berkeley. The study found that people tend to easily dismiss opposing viewpoints as uninformed when they see these opinions in writing, but were less likely to do so when seeing and hearing the speaker say the words.
Unfortunately, this means that even though intentions may start out good in one of these discussions, they are sure to take a turn for the worst with both sides feeling that other side is uninformed and lacking compassion. This leads to both parties feeling attacked, and they should take the others’ words personally. The best way to keep an open mind and dialogue going and to reach an actual resolution to the endless dialogue is to meet up in person and talk about the issues.
This is not to say that at the end of this conversation the opposing viewpoint should be taken, it is only to say that an understanding could be reached if given a chance. If a better world is the goal, we are not going to get through endless rhetoric, we need to see real change and this may require some compromise. Social media may have a larger platform and therefore wider access, but this does no good if we are not really listening to each other.
A way to use social media that can also maintain the element of connection that viewers need to feel are videos. Viewers are less likely to write these off as uncompassionate or uniformed.
The important thing is to understand what makes others feel related to, because that is what is important. Next time one of these arguments starts, remember that addressing the issue right then and there will not make anybody feel more understood. If a post was what it took to solve any of the issues we faced, we may have solved some of them by this point.