7 Silly Things That Cause Ridiculous Facebook Fights ...

If you paid attention to your Timeline last year, you realized how many ridiculous Facebook fights are caused by politics. Politics are a hot-button issue for many people in face-to-face situations, but it gets worse over the Internet. People say the worst things to each other, and often show their true colors in the process. While you should absolutely have the freedom to say what you believe, sometimes Facebook isn't the place for it, especially if you know it will incite a riot among some of your friends.

This one is extremely silly, especially since there are several ways typos can cause issues. For one thing, if you dare make a typo without fixing it (by the way, why won't Facebook just let you edit your status?), then some smug friend is going to point it out automatically and act all d-baggy in the process. For another thing, if you make a particular bad typo that you don't catch – say, by talking about how your friend played a “slut” instead of a “slot” or something – then someone's going to get offended.

People online are kind of paranoid. I give you exhibit A, my thinly veiled reference way above. No matter what you say, they think you're talking about them. If you mention how much you love your new neighbor, they'll think you mean that their neighbors suck. If you talk about how amazing your wedding will be, they'll take it to mean that their wedding sucked. If you talk about how your newest recipe came out perfectly, they'll assume you're saying their cooking sucks. See the pattern? And they will go off on you, right on Facebook – or they'll do a ninja-block, but only after telling you they're doing it.

You should never air your dirty laundry on Facebook. Keep it to Tumblr, y'all! When people air their dirty laundry on Facebook, they want someone to chime in, they're trying to cause a reaction. Boy, do they! Family members will get involved, friendships will crumble, and the troublemaker in question will either thrive on the attention or find herself on the outskirts in her relationships.

You know this person, right? They leave vague status messages bemoaning some horrible thing, or they maximize their time by airing some dirty laundry in the process. As friends and family members start leaving comments wondering if they're the cause for the turmoil, tensions boil over and patience wears thin. There will always be a fight on the horizon.

Those vague status messages are also a form of passive aggression, which will always cause a tiff. When you're trying to call out someone without naming names, you do much more harm than good. Again, everyone you know will chime in with something to say, and comments can get nasty pretty quickly. It's far better just to approach the matter offline, preferably face-to-face.

Religion, like politics, causes more Facebook fights than anything. If you're a religious person, that's fantastic – and you absolutely should be able to share your faith. However, there's a right way to do it, and it doesn't involve making incendiary comments or accusations that you know will hurt or offend other friends. Remember, those privacy settings are there for a reason. Sharing our beliefs doesn't have to involve tearing down or denouncing someone else's, especially if you know they don't feel the same way you do.

Aren't those silly reasons to have a fight over social media? While I love my computer – and my laptop, tablet, and smartphone – and all of my social network accounts, I think it's a shame that so many people become Internet-heroes. Because they're behind a screen, they think they can get away with anything. Then, too, some people are a little too Internet-sensitive, trying to read into things that aren't there through the written word. What are the most ridiculous Facebook fights you've ever seen – and how do you avoid them?