We all know the type: the conservative great-uncle who is very vocal about keeping his gun close and the immigrants out or the liberal classmate who really wants free college and legalized marijuana or the independent kid you went to high school with who makes it well-known that he is moderate on most issues. They’re the Facebook sharers, and if you don’t know one, it’s probably you.
It seems like every other post is about Bernie or Trump, and it can get a little old after a while. No one is really so malleable that their opinion will change after seeing some sort of Hillary Clinton meme. Eventually, these shareable posts are redundant and unnecessary, and they usually create conflict and arguments between Uncle Bob and your weird friend from summer camp.
I’m not going to tell you to stop sharing your opinions. This is America, and your First Amendment rights dictate that you are allowed to say whatever you want to whomever you want. I will, however, ask you to think before you click.
What are you trying to accomplish when you share something? I’m asking because I genuinely do not understand. When I see an anti-Bernie post, something along the lines of “Bernie supporters: ‘I don’t know anything about the government,’” my views on Bernie don’t change in the slightest. It doesn’t matter whether I’m a hardcore fan, a total hater or somewhere in between — your Facebook post is not going to make a difference in my views.
When I see a post like that, whether it leans left or right, the only thing I’m thinking about is whether it’s worth it to read the deliberations in the comments below. I usually end up reading them, and I usually determine that it’s worthless. They usually go something like this:
PERSON 1: “Here is why this post that I posted is correct. This is my opinion, and I think I am very well informed.”
PERSON 2: “Your opinion is incorrect. You are not well informed. In fact, you know nothing.”
PERSON 1: “That is very rude, and again, I am right. You are wrong. Here is an article I read once about how I am right.”
PERSON 2: “That article is scientifically inaccurate, and therefore your entire argument is flawed. You are stupid, and I am much smarter than you. Why are you even trying to argue in favor of this thing that you clearly care about?”
PERSON 1: *string of unprintable curse words*
People tend to get very angry very fast. No one apologizes. It’s hard to read tone through the internet, so it kind of always seems like someone is shouting and being rude. People usually don’t intend to be rude, but someone is always going to be offended.
I’m not asking you to consider your 783 Facebook friends’ feelings before you post something political or controversial. I’m asking you to think about why you want to post it in the first place.
Are you trying to create a healthy discussion in the comments section? If you are, maybe you should just join a debate team or go talk to people in real life, because Facebook is not the place for a civil conversation.
Are you trying to change your friends’ minds? If you are, this is probably not the best way to do that. People don’t like being told they’re wrong. People are stubborn. Your Facebook post is not going to make someone think differently.
Are you hoping to inform your friends? That’s very noble of you, but everyone is on the same internet as you are. That doesn’t necessarily mean everyone sees the same posts or reads the same articles as you, but, to be quite honest, you probably aren’t saying anything new. There’s nothing original under the sun, right?
Are you hoping to create an argument? Do you want to make people mad? If that’s you, stop it. Why do you want to create conflict? Just don’t do it.
If you have some other reason for sharing, think about what sort of impact this action is going to have. If you’re okay with people rolling their eyes, yelling at you through their keyboards or potentially unfollowing you because you post too many conspiracy theories about Ted Cruz being the Zodiac Killer, then continue posting whatever you’re posting. I mean, I’m publishing my opinions under an actual news platform, so I obviously can’t expect you to stop publishing your opinions on an uncensored website, right?
Gillian Lelchuk is a sophomore Writing Seminars and mathematics double major from Los Alamitos, Calif. She is the Hip Hop Editor.
