Social media is all about sharing personal things or random cat videos. Facebook is the biggest platform to post articles about things that a person typically cares about. And more often than not, people post political articles, especially now since it’s an election year.

The only thing about political articles that really differs from articles about the latest iPhone, is that politics are a sensitive and controversial topic.

People are all going to have very different opinions and views no matter the side of the political spectrum you lie on. Liberals may disagree with some other liberals on certain topics and agree on some conservative topics, but that’s because everyone is so different.

So when posting about political findings, I feel as though you should have thorough evidence to back up the post. If you don’t know much about what you’re posting, don’t post it.

Political posts will cause some kind of conversation. They could be agreeing with you, which means you got off the hook if you don’t what is happening, or they could disagree with you and embarrass you on your own Facebook page.

That is why it’s important to know your stuff and stick to the topic being discussed. A clear indication that a person doesn’t know what they’re debating about online or in life in general is when the person starts taking personal jabs at the other person.

It’s like an, “Oh crap, I’m in over my head. Better make fun of that person so they feel bad and stop debating and they don’t make me look bad.”

I recently got into a debate with my cousin about the new Target bathroom rules. I tried to explain why it’s a good thing for the transgender community, and she in turn decided to air out dirty lies about my family.

My family had nothing to do with the Target bathroom policy being changed, but I had actual knowledge about the policy and made her look bad so she tried to embarrass my family.

Political debates are supposed to be about politics. Once things get super personal, things become out of pocket and veer away from the real topic of discussion.

If you’re going to post about laws, policies and politics, know your stuff. If you’re going to debate over laws, policies and politics, still know your stuff.

Don’t embarrass yourself, don’t try to humiliate the other person, just debate about the topic. People can have civil debates, I promise

Brittany McClintock can be reached at [email protected] or @B_McClintock17 on Twitter.