A constructive way to share opinions

How often do you get to hear about a critical yet constructive debates live on social media? Well, I came across one such debate recently. It was between Md Tajdin Hassan, the Head of Marketing at The Daily Star and Solaiman Shukhon, the Head of Market Development at Nagad. Ayman Sadiq, the founder and CEO of Robi 10 Minute School was the host and moderator of the debate which he streamed live from his official page.

Robi 10 Minute School is the largest online educational platform in Bangladesh that currently teaches more than 10,00,000 students every day through its website, app, and social media accounts. During this quarantine period, a number of live discussions are being streamed from their Facebook page on soft skills, life hacks, mental wellbeing, career development, and so on. As people are confined to their houses, Ayman Sadiq decided to introduce live debate where he is bringing people from different backgrounds for constructive discussions where each person challenges the other to answer a relevant set of questions. Before the session, Ayman set a few ground rules. Each person can challenge the other with three questions and three minutes are allotted to each for responding to the questions.

The session began with Tajdin Hassan denouncing Solaiman Shukhon who is a video blogger and social media influencer, for one of his recent social media vlogs where he criticised general people for their admiration of the overseas, while Shukhon himself is very active in highlighting his trips and associations abroad on social media. Solaiman Shukhon said he didn't demean the people but rather he suggested that people should hold their heads up while traveling abroad as we have a number of achievements to share and celebrate. 

Shukhon criticised Tajdin Hassan for posting pessimistic news on social media. He also criticised The Daily Star for promoting negative news at times. Tajdin defended by stressing the role of a newspaper as a social doctor, where the newspaper critically assesses social issues and also plays a vital role in ensuring citizens' right to know. 

While they defended themselves, the live audience kept commenting. I'll be very honest - at one point, the debate got so heated up, I was genuinely concerned about it turning quarrelsome. However, I was galvanized to see how both of them managed to keep the arguments very constructive and explain themselves in the most courteous manner. 

Tajdin Hassan explained why he, at times, shares pessimistic news on social media to catch the attention of noteworthy people who might be able to solve those problems. Similarly, Solaiman Shukhon also defended himself as he explained why he only focuses on the positive stories because many people get inspired. The session ended in a draw, as both of them could defend themselves with logical explanations. 

This is the first time I viewed a heated yet constructive debate live on social media, but I'm sure it won't be my last. Tajdin Hasan and Solaiman Shukhon proved to the audience that it's totally possible to understand each other's opinions with an empathetic tone and we all have different points of view on how we look at the world. Instead of being judgmental and accusing upfront, we must learn to accept each other's opinions, and whenever we find flaws, we must approach in a very constructive manner. 

Last but not least, Ayman Sadiq played a marvelous role in moderating the session, ensuring that both Tajdin Hasan and Solaiman Shukhon are able to defend themselves properly. 

Rafeed Elahi chowdhury is an author, and a content creator.