There’s nothing new about people disagreeing about things, but since the emergence of social media more than two decades ago, there seems to have been more disagreements and more people are disagreeable.
The traditional conventional wisdom was to avoid arguments, don’t talk about politics or religion. But now it seems like almost every issue people argue about involves politics or religion in some way.
So how can we agree to disagree but not become so disagreeable?
A new study may suggest an answer. Researchers at the University of Houston wanted to know what it takes by creating a fake argument about a made-up food additive on Facebook between users.
And they found that what they call “intellectually humble behavior” Of course, Facebook and Twitter are no strangers to disagreements.
They say a willingness to admit you may be wrong about something, even part of an argument, has a “positive correlation with agreeableness, openness to experience, honesty and humility and emotional intelligence.”
So while none of us will ever agree or disagree about everything, what we should probably all try to agree on, is to be more humble and more honest, and maybe that can help us find answers to our disagreements and find solutions for our problems.
(Photo Getty Images)
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Photo: Getty Images