Why You Can’t Win That Argument on the Internet

PraveenKumar
Member • Jul 20, 2011

Why You Can’t Win That Argument on the Internet

Why You Can’t Win That Argument on the Internet

No matter who you are, you've likely spent some amount of time arguing online with someone you just couldn't believe was incapable of accepting the truth. That may have been because they were susceptible to something called the backfire effect, or so were you.

According to author David McRaney's post on the backfire effect, we have a tendency to believe things even more when our beliefs are challenged. The basic idea comes from how we handle negative information versus positive information:

A thousand positive remarks can slip by unnoticed, but one "you suck" can linger in your head for days. One hypothesis as to why this and the backfire effect happens is that you spend much more time considering information you disagree with than you do information you accept. Information which lines up with what you already believe passes through the mind like a vapor, but when you come across something which threatens your beliefs, something which conflicts with your preconceived notions of how the world works, you seize up and take notice. Some psychologists speculate there is an evolutionary explanation. Your ancestors paid more attention and spent more time thinking about negative stimuli than positive because bad things required a response. Those who failed to address negative stimuli failed to keep breathing.
McRaney points to several studies showing how people are willing to completely ignore scientific proof that their beliefs are wrong. The Backfire Effect will be said further... 😀

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ISHAN TOPRE

Member • Jul 20, 2011

It is true. Also in real life but easily evident on Internet. Easily because well the comic is explanatory. Many times when someone opposes you really want to show that "NO YOU ARE WRONG and I AM RIGHT". It is however more advisable to leave the topic and say "OK YOU ARE RIGHT", if not simply keep quite.

A wise man is the one who avoids unnecessary arguments on internet. ( Well a wise man would hardly spend any time on net 😁)

It isn't that I am above baseless arguments, but left doing those after this-> #-Link-Snipped-# Because I still do not know who won that argument.

By the way cool illustration 😀

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PraveenKumar Purushothaman

Member • Jul 20, 2011

You know what? One time the same thing happened and I was unable to sleep that day. I met with a stranger online and I was damn sure that he was not the one he claimed to be. I was unable to move myself out from him and kept on arguing pointlessly and finally the happened was:
1. I lost my sleep that day!
2. The chat transcript spread to all my college mates.
3. My relationship with the real person claimed has damaged!
Even after my dad asked me to ignore that crap and come to bed, I didn't. At least I should have listened to his words! 😔

Another information about the Backfire Effect is:

The Misconception: When your beliefs are challenged with facts, you alter your opinions and incorporate the new information into your thinking.
The Truth: When your deepest convictions are challenged by contradictory evidence, your beliefs get stronger.

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Mr.Don

Member • Jul 23, 2011

@Praveen

You are right Praveen and we have been in similar kind of situations before and the information whether it is positive or negative depends on the person in the way they think and requirement of the information to be true or false.If a person believe the information to be true and when he get a negative response on that information contradicting the truth of the information he know then the argument begins.In the case of the person winning the argument then there will not be any problem but if he don't then there the problem arises where he will try to prove and to win the argument. Here it depends on the requirement of the information to be true. In fact if he strongly believe that the information he knows is a fact then he will definitely waste his time trying to prove he is right or else he will make assumptions but definitely he will not agree that he is wrong and that's the reason why negative information carries more marks.The best way to overcome this kind of problem is to stay calm in these situations and let them know. 😛 😀

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PraveenKumar Purushothaman

Member • Jul 23, 2011

@Dileep: Awesome man! Agreed! 😁

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ShrinkDWorld

Member • Jul 23, 2011

I want some suggestions guys "How to avoid social networking?"
My lots of time wasted in it. I konow that my time is wasting in chatting & comments. But don't know how to avoid it....
any help??

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PraveenKumar Purushothaman

Member • Jul 23, 2011

You can have the SN as a good time passing agent but you must not get addicted to it. That's where our tolerance stays... 😀

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Anoop Mathew

Member • Jul 28, 2011

gg_gaurav
I want some suggestions guys "How to avoid social networking?"
My lots of time wasted in it. I konow that my time is wasting in chatting & comments. But don't know how to avoid it....
any help??
It's not social networking that you need to avoid, it's your attitude towards social networking.

I feel social networking is the easiest way to keep in touch and we do learn more while keeping contact. The real fact is often disturbing because most people 'waste' their time socializing in ways that are considered 'useless'. So better use your brains that your fingers to do the 'typing'/'chatting'.

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Anoop Mathew

Member • Jul 28, 2011

praveenscience
Why You Can’t Win That Argument on the Internet

Is it easy for you to teach someone how to eat with chopsticks? Can you feed someone with food if he doesn't want to eat? Do you think everyone will enjoy a particular type of food? The answer is NO. So the answer to this statement is:
"An Egoistic Mind will never change. You need to humble yourself, accept what you know is little and compare, analyse, introspect and then accept the fact if it is convincing enough."

But it is also true that there are certain unexplainable facts such as the 'Origin of the Universe' or 'The Almighty God' about which we simply waste our time arguing. These facts are better off left to our own beliefs and faiths.

There are times when the person with whom we debate will have a mindset which reflects a 'win-lose attitude'. From Stephen R. Covey's book, 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People', it says that an effective conversation must always end in a win-win attitude in such a way that both parties understand each other effectively. The main problem faced by many of us is the lack of potential to explain our views properly. So practice and learn the art of patience!

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