Fighting Words: Why Our Public Disclosure Must Change

Despite how much you may dislike it or try to avoid it, arguing is a natural part of life. Most people would not think that arguing is a natural way of balancing things out, but it is. Although there isn’t necessarily a right way to argue, there are definitely wrong ways to argue, which will most likely lead to bigger problems than the original problem. Clearly, no one taught us how to argue, but just like we are influenced to do a lot of things in life, the way we disagree with one another and accept criticism is one. In today’s society, technology has played a major role in influencing the way we argue and disagree with one another. In “Fighting Words: Why Our Public Disclosure Must Change” essay by Kelby Carlson, the idea of the media and technology is ruining the way people interact with each other during arguments. From political debates, discussions between talk show hosts, and even extreme arguments on reality TV shows, Americans demonstrate arguing in the most confrontational and aggressive way. Carlson believes that television and other sources of technology, like Facebook, has developed a “word-oriented culture” and made arguments more common to the public than ever (Carlson,

And while a few ideas were brought up, no solution was made. The idea of using social media outlets to be kind, sympathetic, and genuine towards one another when communicating in public, especially during debates, instead of trying to be the dominant and aggressive one seemed to be the closest answer. Just imagine how different the world would be if technology was used to promote positivity and encouragement, and not just dramatic disagreements for ratings and profit. Of course, there is no logical way to end this poisonous cycle anytime soon, but a great start would be showing people how debates and disagreements should be handled via technology and social