There are two types of people in the world: those who love to argue on Facebook and those who can’t stand it. For those who fit the former more than the latter, science can help you win your social media spats whether you’re proving Trump is inadequate to be president or insisting that Game of Thrones is the worst show on television. Researchers from Cornell University, who will present their findings at the International World Wide Web Conference in April, have found that certain techniques increase your odds of winning argument online.
The study followed 18,000 threads on Reddit (specifically the subreddit called r/changemyview) over two and a half years. This subreddit, in particular, was important to the study since the premise of it is to debate a topic and persuade other people in the forum — those who succeed in persuading their fellow-Redditors receive a “delta.”
The Washington Post reports that there are eight rules to abide by in order to win an online argument, whether it be on Facebook, Twitter or Reddit.
Respond sooner rather than later to the initial statement.
If you have people who back up your argument, you’re more persuasive.
The odds are in your favor during the first three or four exchanges but after that, it decreases, according to corresponding author Chenhao Tan.
Link to evidence.
Never quote the person since it seems like you are “nit-picking with their wording.”
Stay calm and keep your language that way.
Longer responses fare better than one-liners.
Attempt selecting your arguments using a new point instead of honing in on the original idea.
While these eight commandments of arguing on the Internet can help, they are by no means guarantees. In fact, the reportfound that 70 percent of people followed by this study were not persuaded to change their views.
As for why people argue on the Internet, Art Markman, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, told Scientific American that physical distance coupled with virtual anonymity creates the perfect environment for rude behavior without accountability.
