The last time I doomscrolled on TikTok was nearly two weeks ago, before telling myself that I needed to stop what my parents would call an “addiction.” I had responded to over 40 different comments and videos, a feat that consumed precious study time and kept me up far too late. The slew of responses to my comments contained words such as brainwashed, communist, sore loser, elitist, sheep, puppet, snowflake — the list goes on. I found it hard to believe how a “sheep” and an “elitist” could have anything in common. Consequently, I began to wonder what has become of political discourse amid the era of President Donald Trump’s two terms and a significant national political divide.
I was often flooded with respondents who argued that my ideas were “wrong” by using harsh and accusatory language. Whether I or anyone else was wrong was not the issue. Instead, it was — and continues to be — the lack of respectful, organized and purposeful conversations in today’s political landscape. For example, I commented on topics related to Trump’s tariffs, the impacts of cleaner energy and the termination of the United States Agency for International Development’s funding.
I underwent tense back-and-forths underscored by misconceptions and discontinuities on both sides. One commenter wrote, “Spending $50 million on condoms for other nations is acceptable?” which is a commonly falsified claim by the International Medical Corps. Another wrote, “green energy is worse for the environment than oil,” a claim also well-known to be false. But I too was guilty of such provocations, telling commenters more than once to “get an education and read a book” or to “keep eating up the lies.”
Fueled by misinformation and feelings of superiority, both sides engaged in unproductive digital debates that merely reinforced the polarization, each comment taking on new tangents and harsher language. As I took a step back from my wasteful arguments, I thought of how these conversations — and those in professional politics — could be improved by better articulating our intentions, considerations and actual language.
Take the issue of climate change, for example. There is no doubt that the Earth is undergoing rapid and unprecedented environmental changes. Some say that environmental regulations are the key to saving the planet, while others say that businesses and consumers will be burdened by these regulations. Both sides are correct: Regulations help reduce harmful pollutants but have also historically caused price increases and unemployment. It doesn’t boil down to who’s right or wrong, but rather, it’s about finding a solution that caters to all sides. Words like “regulation” tend to scare off those invested in the economic side of climate change, demonstrating an important misstep in how we approach compromises on polarized issues. Replacing these terms with a more productive word like “investments” caters to bipartisanship, yielding a productive outcome that protects the environment and stimulates economic growth. These are the types of discussions we should prioritize.
The unhealthy debates of today, like those surrounding climate change, are often ignited by trigger words and false information. The Editorial Board’s “Let’s bring more elephants into the room” piece described this well: “We might latch onto provocative keywords and associate them with an entire ideology or stance. If it’s something we disagree with, it can be tempting to jump to conclusions about the other person’s lack of information, aptitude or even morality.” It is clear that a commitment to changing how we debate must be made.
Returning to my TikTok comments, this small moment suggested larger contemplations on the reality of division and mispronunciation. Constant side tracks and accusations produce an ineffective forum for discourse. We use the wrong language and prioritize the wrong outcomes, too often being sucked in by charged language that puts our arguments on entirely new and distracting tangents. Today, we have much to learn about articulating our own arguments and from debating those with opposing views. Perhaps beginning these changes on social media will allow us to eventually have more thoughtful debates on the large stage of U.S. politics. The next time you find yourself in a TikTok comment section, ready to accuse someone of being utterly wrong, try to present a response that’s more considerate, informed and articulated than just saying, “Ok, sheep.”
