The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

There’s a few things that help:

- do not engage with the technically correct but missing the point people

- don’t check your threads if you posted something that the groupthink disagrees with

- don’t try to win arguments if you know you’re right

I can’t help but notice how all those points are centered around you being the bearer of truth and others being the source of dismay.

While these may be easy ways to avoid exposing yourself to sources of discomfort it might also not be a bad idea to learn how to deal with confrontation and dissonance in a productive manner.

Besides being contrarian, I am nothing if not that, I honestly think our society at large will benefit from learning how to deal constructively with opposing perspectives and mindsets - assuming we ever get to that point.

While I ostensibly agree about learning how to deal constructively with opposing perspectives, I also don't think online discourse (main stream avenues) will ever be the place to learn or partake in those sorts of conversations. Even in smaller subreddits, your comments will be viewed by thousands of people, some of whom are explicitly there to troll or to argue in bad faith or even people literally having mental breakdowns. You also end up in situations where every reply is to a new person, so you're not really having a discourse with anyone just an amorphous entity. Look at things like "Godwin's law" or "Poe's law", for some long running beliefs/commentary on internet discourse.

> don’t try to win arguments if you know you’re right

Caveats:

- I can be wrong (sometimes need some pointing out)

- it is ok to post for the benefit of lurkers (inform others of fake news and such)

Along with don't check your threads, don't check your votes. I'm always struck by people saying "I don't know why I was downvoted for such-and-such." Where do they find the time to go back and check the votes on comments they made? I say the things I say and move on.