Taking Discussions Offline

I recently logged onto Facebook to see that one of my Facebook friends had re-posted an anti-GMO picture.  It's not the first time I've seen something like that on social media, but I must have been having a bit of a bad day because it made me a bit angry.  I left it alone for a while and then replied that evening, once I'd cooled down a bit, arguing that GMOs are not evil.  A bit of mild debate ensued in the comments of the post, but my friend and I quickly decided to take the conversation off of the internet.  I think we both realised that this is a subject that is far too complex for a social media site.  Also, it's almost impossible to convey tone over the internet and we didn't want the conversation to get unnecessarily heated.

So, this evening I made a trip to town and visited this friend and her husband to continue the discussion.  It was a lot calmer than discussions about GMO, organic, and other food issues often are. We were quickly able to find some common ground and exchanged information that we each had gathered over the years.  We all learned something by the end and then spent a lot of time just visiting over ice cream.  It was much better than having a heated debate over the internet.

I am of the opinion that it is really important to keep learning, especially about things that concern or confuse us.  The intenet is an amazing resource.  There's so much information out there.  Unfortunately, there's too much information out there.  Many facts are half-truths or don't tell the whole story and the vast amount of facts is simply overwhelming.  Combine the overwhelming amount of information with the inability to communicate tone and intent over the internet, and a lot of discussions that should be calm degenerate into angry "shouting matches" liberally sprinkled with capital letters, italics, and emoticons.

Social media sites are great for keeping track of people and randomly connecting with friends we don't see a lot.  It's even good for spreading some types of information.  But sometimes we need to take the conversations off of the internet, sit down face-to-face, and just talk.  The discussion stays calm, gets more in depth, and is liberally sprinkled with beverages, ice cream, and "how's your family".  Now, isn't that better than getting all worked up over a misinterpreted comment on a Facebook post?