‘Naught as queer as folk’ so go on, make the popcorn!

I don’t know about you but one of the most interesting forms of entertainment online is the comment section on contentious social media posts.  Some are downright hilarious, others tongue-in-cheek and a couple play devil’s advocate.  Others make you shake your head in disbelief at how ill-informed they are….and then there is the keyboard warrior.

According to the urban dictionary a keyboard warrior is ‘A person who, being unable to express his anger through physical violence (owning to their physical weakness, lack of bravery and/or conviction in real life), instead manifests said emotions through the text-based medium of the internet, usually in the form of aggressive writing’.

The sad reality, however, is keyboard warriors are people who genuinely believe that what they have say is of such great importance that the only way it can be communicated is by spewing their vitriol out and onto the net.  In many cases its attention seeking behaviour as they harass and bully or criticise others online for real-life conflicts without being at all helpful or constructive.

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Unfortunately, there is no way of avoiding them unless you opt to stop using social media altogether but you can take some steps in dealing with them.

• Try to maintain your cool.  More easily said than done I suspect when all you want to do is fire off a retort which will only add more fuel to the fire.
• Take a breather and always talk sense. That, in essence, is the difference between you and them. Remember most keyboard warriors, who like to portray themselves as radical free-thinkers, when challenged by logic and with no solid argument to rely on will inevitably revert to abuse.
• If you’re up to it have some fun and contradict their views. No cheap shots or use of abusive language and above all, know when to stop.

Never take any abuse on social media to heart after all the power rests with you to validate their opinions.

HAVE YOUR SAY

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