How to Remain Calm During an Online Feud

Everyone has been there: you're scrolling through social media and find yourself in a heated exchange with someone else. Maybe it started out as a simple disagreement about politics or religion, but now the insults are flying and things have escalated out of control. If you find yourself in this situation, it's important to keep your cool so as not to make things worse. Here are some tips on how to remain calm while dealing with an online feud:

Acknowledge your feelings.

Recognize that you are feeling angry, sad, or scared. It is okay to feel these things!

Don't try to suppress your feelings. If someone has hurt your feelings and you want to express them in an honest way, don't hold back just because that person is acting like it doesn't matter. You have every right to be upset!

Similarly, don't hide your feelings or pretend they don't exist just because someone else is acting like they're not there. Again: you have every right to be upset! This person has done something wrong and deserves your anger - even if they're acting like everything's fine between the two of you (which isn't fair).

Don't take it personally.

When someone is trying to get a reaction out of you, it can be tempting to let their words get under your skin and make you feel like they've won. But don't let them win! They want drama, so don't give them that satisfaction. You are better than this petty person who chooses to spend their time online arguing with strangers on the internet. Remember: they aren't even talking about you - they're just trying to get attention from anyone who will listen (and sometimes those people are complete strangers). Just take a breath and remind yourself that this person has no idea who you are or what kind of day you're having today; they don't know anything about who you really are or what makes your heart sing - or if your heart even sings at all!

Try to look at the bigger picture.

Remember that this person isn't a social media bot. They have their own thoughts and feelings, just like you do. Try to look at the situation from their perspective, and think about what could be going on in their life that might make them act that way.

For example: they may have just been fired from their job, or they may be having relationship problems with their significant other - or maybe they're dealing with a lot of stress at work right now and taking it out on others.

Put yourself in the other person's shoes.

Think about what it would feel like to have someone publicly call you out or make fun of you. Think about how it would feel to be made fun of, and then imagine that feeling multiplied by 100, if not 1,000. Now imagine that feeling happening every day of your life for the rest of your life. That's what it feels like to be bullied online - and now, imagine knowing that there is nothing you can do about it because there are no laws protecting against cyberbullying (yet). It's easy for us as bystanders to say "just ignore them" but try being in their position and understand why they're reacting as such before trying to rationalize with them or become angry at them for their actions.

Remind yourself that your feelings are valid.

Remind yourself that your feelings are valid, even if they're not based on facts. Feelings are just feelings. They don't have to be justified, explained or apologized for. You don't need to prove that they're legitimate - they just are!

If you find yourself getting upset during an online feud, leave the conversation and take a few deep breaths before returning to it. Or step away entirely and do something else for twenty minutes or so; give your mind some time to process what happened.

Find out what you can learn from this situation.

You've made a mistake. You've been caught in an online feud, and it's not going well. But what can you do? How can you make the most of this situation and learn from it?

First, there are three things that might happen:

• The other person will apologize, and then everything will go back to normal with no hard feelings on either side.
• The other person will refuse to apologize, but then he or she will realize that because he/she doesn't know what they did wrong (or perhaps never did anything wrong), apologizes would only be an admission of guilt - which may have been something the person was trying to avoid all along! In this case, if things escalate past their breaking point then both parties walk away feeling like they were right all along - and yet again nothing was resolved.#3

Take a break if you need to.

If your feelings are hurt, or if it's a particularly stressful situation, then take a break. Don't feel obligated to respond to every comment or post on the thread of the feud. It's important not to be pressured into doing this by anyone else - including yourself. Some people might tell you that they're waiting for your response before they make another post on their own page, but there is no requirement for them to behave like that either way. If it's not worth your time and energy (or if it would make things worse), then don't do it! Just walk away from the keyboard for awhile. When we're upset about something happening online and we've been trying desperately to fix it, sometimes we forget that there's an actual human being sitting behind those words coming at us from across cyberspace

Express yourself with empathy and understanding instead of anger and defensiveness.

If you take the time to understand where the other person is coming from, it will help you stay calm. Try to see things from their point of view and try to find a reason for their behavior. For example, if someone is being aggressive towards you online and you think they might be upset or insecure about something else in their life (like job issues or money problems), this can help put things into perspective.

You may find that there are some similarities between yourself and the person who has angered you so much online. If so, use those similarities as an opportunity for conversation instead of confrontation!

Use humor when appropriate.

• Use humor when appropriate.

Humor is a great way to diffuse a tense situation and break the ice, but it can also be used as a defense mechanism. For example, if someone says something offensive or insulting about your appearance or personality, you might want to reply with some clever retort that makes them feel bad for being so rude. This will help keep them from making further comments and possibly win over other bystanders who were watching the interaction unfold.

• Don't be afraid to use sarcasm!

Sarcasm is one of the most misunderstood types of humor - and yet it's also one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal when responding online. When you respond sarcastically (a technique known as "rebuttal"), you're essentially saying one thing while meaning another: It's like saying "That's not true" while really meaning "I think that's true." The beauty here is that no matter what type of person we are dealing with - whether they're conservative or liberal; religious or atheistic; sarcastic themselves - we can all recognize sarcasm when we see it used against us because we've all heard our fair share before!

Remember that you don't have to respond to everything you read.

That's right, there are plenty of reasons why it might not be the best idea for you to engage with an online argument. If someone is making a comment about your looks or your body and it's not something that you can change in the moment, then ignoring them is usually your best bet. This person isn't worth getting upset over things that are out of your control.

Another thing you can do instead of responding is choose a more positive way of responding - like humor or kindness (or both!). There are plenty of ways that people can use social media as an outlet for emotional expression - but sometimes what others say online shouldn't warrant an entire response from us (unless they're asking us questions).

People are human, we all make mistakes, but we can still be kind about it.

When you're in the middle of a dispute, it can feel impossible to stay calm. But here's the thing: people are human, and we all make mistakes! Even if someone is making an extreme claim about your work and seems to be out to get you, they're still only human.

Remember that we all have bad days sometimes - even if it's not clear what exactly happened (or why). You should explain your side of things clearly and calmly before asking for feedback from others. If possible, keep any negative energy out of your head as much as possible when dealing with online feuds. If there's anything positive about this person or this situation at all, try focusing on that instead - it could help prevent further escalation.

If there are other people involved in whatever dispute has arisen between you and another party (e.g., coworkers), keep them involved as much as possible while preserving good relationships within your team! This will also help prevent further escalation because it shows good intentions on both sides despite any disagreements over specific points made thus far

Conclusion

Remember that it's easy to forget that people are human, and they make mistakes. When you take away the online context and put yourself in their shoes, you might find there is more common ground than you thought. Kindness can go a long way, even when the odds seem stacked against you.