Is twitter spoiling a good debate?

Ever had a good discussion over a pint while discussing tactics of a football match, or any sport really?

Ever had a good tweet over a pint while discussing tactics of a football match, or any sport really?

For me the second one has never happened.  It rarely happens.  I may tweet about things going on throughout the day (rarely), but I would much rather talking with friends or even just random fans.  There is a certain fun about being able to interact face to face when trying to explain your point to someone.  You can use things such as tone, voice inflection, facial movements and hand gestures in order to get your point across, can you do that on twitter?

A good discussion is a fun thing to engage in every now and then, whether it be over sport, politics or movies.  Hopefully you are engaging in a civil tone where you are able listen and understand the points the person you are speaking with is making.  And whether or not you are swayed or still set in your view is not the main point, but at least you are able to understand the context of the face to face discussion.  It does not seem that way on twitter.

I was prompted to write this after being on twitter and watching people respond to Joey Barton tweeting about the situation surrounding John Terry and his racism allegations and being stripped of the England captaincy.  I love following Joey Barton on twitter, he does have interesting days (like shopping in Richmond) and speaks his mind.  After his tweets today though concerning the Terry issue there were lots of people replying to his tweets to take a stance on his views.  This baffles me as to why people feel the need to respond to Joey Barton’s tweets.

Whatever is contained within the 140 character tweet should not be taken as fact, or even at face value.  There is no context, no tone, no emotion that the reader is able to pick up on.  And that is what is hurting a good discussion these days.  What is motivating people to argue back and forth (140 characters worth) on twitter over a serious topic such as John Terry’s racism allegations, or even the tactics/selection being used by your favorite club?  This is not to say that what your football club did right or wrong is more important that the allegations surrounding the Chelsea captain, it has more to do with having these discussions over social media.

It seems that something rather important is missed upon a twitter discussion.  And unlike at the pub where there may be two or three of you at the pub laughing and yelling at each other that discussion is contained within your group with its own personal touch on it.

Just think about that the next time you are reading people arguing over a topic on twitter.

And now think what that argument would be like if they were face to face?