Why do people argue, then? Arguments are the cancer of conversation- I mean this mainly in the sense of viral autoproduction. I think people are generally driven to signal their thoughts and feelings, when relevant. Leaving them unsaid is often deeply unsatisfying. Hearing someone say something you think is wrong will probably spark your impulse to give your own take. Hearing their justification will probably not make you change your view of things substantially; rather, it'll just be another thing you think is wrong and feel a need to correct. I'm usually just trying in vain to get someone to understand my point of view, and I imagine they're probably doing the same. It really doesn't help that things quickly become framed as competition, a battle of ideas, which disincentivises any sort of genuine understanding of one's 'opponent', let alone giving anyone the interpretational benefit of the doubt. Why understand where someone is coming from when you can epicly own them by pointing out surface-level errors? It's just frustration begetting frustration.
The appeal of debate as sport is lost on me... though I guess I could say the same thing about sport as sport. Though, the self-awareness of it is interesting. To my understanding, good debaters know that debate is bad for coming to reasonable conclusions, they simply reject reasonable conclusions in favor of competitive persuasion*. I suppose the people who find debate enjoyable probably didn't grow up with parents constantly shouting at one another. For me, it's just a headache.
Argumentation is a self-perpetuating trap which wastes my time, drains my energy, and generally leaves me unhappy. I don't really care if people hold beliefs that I think are wrong- or rather, that care tends to be fleeting. If you catch me arguing with you please be aware that I am committing self-harm.
I suppose the alternative is just distracting myself until I stop caring?