The particular online argument that I decided to show was through the online platform of TikTok. The video itself is about why a woman should be able to choose whether or not they should have a baby. Due to the controversial topic of abortion many people were in the comment sections either praising or giving reasons why that should not be the case. This particular argument was between a pro lifer and a bunch of pro choice commenters. The argument itself is over 712 comments long and I believe showcases a rather common way that people argue online. Rather than it just being two people, there are multiple people backing up each topic with their own facts or personal opinions. Thus it gave me a lot of media to go through and research how these people conducted the way that they argued and whether or not it was conducive. Through reading the arguments I saw a lot of people use facts and figures to back up their own personal opinions on the topic whether it be through Google search or using ChatGPT. Because there are so many people involved in this online argument, it showcases the myriad of different ways people will conduct themselves on the Internet, whether it be tasteful or downright insulting. Everyone has a different way of communicating during this online argument. Because there are so many people involved in this online argument, it showcases of myriad of different ways people will conduct themselves on the Internet, whether it be tasteful or downright insulting. Everyone has a different way of communicating during this online argument.
When thinking about my three negative examples, I wanted to research certain aspects of what an online argument is and what to look out for as a red flag. Psychologist Biswas-Deiner highlights in his article that negative comments online often have similar personality types in writing styles. He highlights that these people are more narcissistic, psychopathic and sadistic, and they are not people that you can reason with. Through learning this, I can look at the argument that I found within TikTok in a whole new light, in this argument the user Rex along with others continues to justify his opinion on why women should not have the choice to have an abortion through reading, I could see that his facts were very opinion based and just downright insensitive therefore leading for me to believe that he is a troll and has the persona and writing style that most trolls have. Three negative concerns and examples that I saw during this online argument were number one people using unreliable sources or embellishing things to match their own belief, the use of class and derogatory language towards the other users in both parties, and finally lack of understanding by the original commenter. While there are people who do use sources and statistics to back up their opinions, many of them are based on belief and their own argumentative opinion.
The five rules that I have created for Arguing effectively online or as follows are the following:
Keep it respectful, the use of crass language or other derogatory statements to whoever you are arguing with makes you lose credibility.
Keep in mind your own perspective on the topic are the facts and opinions you are stating are true. Do they add anything to the argument or are they promoting your own beliefs? These are all questions to keep in mind when communicating online.
If you’re going to “a specific statistic or fact, be sure that you are getting your facts from a reliable and credible source. If you're going to “a specific statistic or fact, be sure that you are getting your facts from a credible source.
When you know the person can’t be reasoned with, turn off the computer.
Know the difference between a troll and a genuine commenter.
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