Discussing politics and other contentious sunjects online feels to me like it’s counterproductive these days and even though I try not to get suckered in, I often can’t help myself. Usually though I just end up feeling frustrated and sometimes angry at the other person either missing my points or refusing to accept them.

Thinking back to conversations I’ve had here and previously on Reddit, not only can I not remember an example of me “winning” the discussion and the other person changing their mind or conceding the point, I also cannot think of a time where my mind was changed either.

So have you ever begun a discussion online with someone with a different view point to yours and either you, or they, changed the others mind?

  • lonefighter@sh.itjust.works
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    14 hours ago

    I think it depends on the tone. I’ve had my mind changed and view adjusted many times in online discussions. Does the other person come at me in a “debate” mindset, very aggressive, dismissive, hostile, or calling me names? Bye, I’m probably going to block them and move on with my life. But if they come at me with a spirit of discussion, education, and kindness as a fellow human with a differing opinion, I’ll consider what they say. I may not agree with it, but many times I have adjusted my views or even completely changed them.

    I remember years ago I was completely against legalization/decriminalization of drugs. I thought that it would never be a good thing and didn’t understand why people would support it; why would you want to give people MORE access to heroin? I had commented on a website making a statement along those lines, and someone responded with a well educated comment about how a certain country (was it Brazil? I can’t remember, it was so long ago) had either legalized or decriminalized drugs and how not only did it allow them to put in place systems to help addicts, but the crime rate dropped substantially because the cartels no longer had a market to operate. I ended up doing some research and realized that this person was right, and ever since then I’ve been firmly on the side of decriminalizing drugs and putting efforts towards healthcare and helping addicts rather than punishment.