Whether you are liberal or conservative, a democrat or republican, an avid voter or someone that has never even voted in a high school student council election, I really don’t care what your opinions on political issues are and don’t want to hear them.

I never thought I would miss the days of having to scroll through countless cat memes on Facebook and Instagram if I wanted to see how my old friends were doing, but it really was a hell of a lot more bearable than having to scroll through contradicting gun control memes.

Now, you are 100% entitled to your own opinions, even if they stand in direct opposition to my own.

I am not at all saying that everyone that disagrees with me needs to stop but that those whose beliefs align with my own may continue making remarks.

What I am saying is that everyone equally needs to stop spouting their own beliefs as if they are gospel.

Trust me, your thoughts on a new policy being heard by the world are in no way imperative to the survival of the universe as we know it. Allow me to tell you why this needs to stop.

To be honest, your opinions really make no difference in the world. I’m sorry, I really am. Seriously though, if you really think that your words alone on how a shooter could have been stopped if gun laws were stricter or if they were more lenient and everyone had a gun are going to convert someone to your side of the political spectrum, then you’re not only a slight bit arrogant, but also extremely naive.

While some people admittedly may hold certain opinions due solely to their own ignorance, the vast majority have some logical backing for thinking the way they do. Whether it be because of past personal experiences, having a loved one in that may be affected such as teachers, upbringing, education, or a number of other factors, these people have formed the opinions they currently hold for reason.

Saying what you think is not going to magically negate all of that and convince them that you are right and they are wrong.

The majority of political posts are also opinions, not fact.

This means that you aren’t saying some undeniable truth or even something that can’t be disputed, so there is no reason to post about it unless you are asking others for their own opinions on the matter (which lets be honest, very few people, if anyone at all, ask for others to give input instead of just aggressively asserting something).

There is no necessity and no urgency in others seeing your personal beliefs on a matter. If you are posting a fact for political purposes, triple check it before you post or share.

Misinformation can spread like wildfire on the internet, and by sharing it or posting about it, all you are doing is throwing gasoline on one giant flame of ignorance. There are a number of websites that will make up random nonsense to feed off of the blind outrage of the masses and attract click traffic to their websites.

So if you’re opinions aren’t going to convert anyone and don’t have any impact on the world either, they also aren’t doing any harm so who cares if you post them anyway, right? Wrong. Aside from the fact that it’s annoying, these posts usually just breed hate.

Anyone that posted something pro Donald Trump or pro-Hillary Clinton during and after the last presidential may have even lost good friends over it. By posting your opinions, all you are doing is opening yourself up for attack from those with dissenting opinions. This can create all out comment section warfare, where people will constantly verbally attack each other and insist that they are right and others are wrong.

It isn’t raising awareness for an issue, it isn’t fostering unity, and it isn’t helping solve a problem.

All it is doing is creating further division, increasing tension surrounding the topic, and causing anger over a subject where everyone can be both right and wrong simultaneously.

Please, next time you are thinking about posting some political meme on Instagram, retweeting that political activist you saw on TV, or sharing an aggressively opinionated political article on Facebook, just don’t. I can’t speak for everyone in the world, but I can tell you that I am not alone in saying that I really don’t care to see what you think.