To change someone's opinion (especially on the internet).

On Twitter, you can often see the following high-level discussions.

 

A  "ABC is XYZ.".
B  "You're completely wrong. Stupid, stupid, stupid.".


Here is one question.

What are the odds of the person who is blamed as "stupid" will change them opinions?

The side who says "stupid" may estimate this probability quite high, but not in reality.

 

You dare to refute the other person's opinion this way, which means you wants them to change the opinion, don’t you?

 
In that case, these methods are very bad.


But yes, this is a contrived example!


So, how about the following case?


Someone says "ABC is XYZ."
You say "You're wrong. The reasons are as follows. No.1 is ….next, No.100 is…”


I am afraid that even if you beat them in this way, they does not necessarily change them opinions. The facts do not always change one’s opinions.


Why is that?
It's related to our pride. This is called "MEN-TSU" in Japanese.

Especially on the Internet, protecting pride is more important than telling the truth.


For example, on Twitter, many people think that if they apologize, they will die. As you know.
Of course it's better to say sorry than to die, but they think if they apologize even once, they feel despise and will no longer have the right to tweet.


Actually it is not so, but there are many people who think so.


What would happen if I told a person who thinks so, cruel fact?

It is natural they do not to admit the fact, and even worse, their attitude may be hardened.


= =

 

What should we do?

There are some way.


In short, protect their prides.

 

 To do so, don't deny them.

But, how can we point out that their opinion is wrong, without denying?

For example, if they said that the Japanese government's measures against COVID-19 are very inferior to those of foreign governments.

Even if I show them the number of COVID-19 deaths per population by country and tell them how wonderful the Japanese measures are, they will never change the opinion.


So I am executing as follows

 

1.You are right, but only under certain conditions.

 

The important thing is not to deny him.

They is right. However, you tell them that there is a condition for it, and ask them to examine thier own idea.

"Yes, if the death toll in Japan is higher than in the U.S. or Britain, your opinion is correct."

 

2.You're wrong, but you cannot be helped.

This method is stricter than No, 1’s expression, but is also one of the ways to protect the pride of them.

In short, they is wrong, but you pretend there are some reason they thought so.


"Your opinion is not correct. But it's hard to get the right information, so you did the best you could.

 

Never mind!

 

= =

On the Yahoo! BBS, I saw the conversation between users.
Like as Twitter, Yahoo! BBS is a website where many people have high-level discussions. “ You are Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! "

 

About the number of person who infected COVID-19 , Japan has a few number compared to foreign country.

But one user said “We are not notified about the total number of COVID-19 testing, so this number is meaningless. The Japanese government should also disclose the total number of testing!”

 

That's a great opinion, but under the conditions.


Another user said as follows.
"The Japanese government has already announced the total number of testings. But the media doesn't report that so much, so you can’t help for making a mistake. "

 

The user who was told so changed their opinion and started criticizing the media.
It's rare to someone be persuaded like this in the Internet world.

In this way, in order to change their mind, I think it is good to consider how to protect them prides.

Provide an escape way.


When you try to persuade someone, you should start by thinking about this.