When talking about the word “controversy,” what do you think of? The most basic straight-to-the point definition of controversy, according to vocabulary.com states, “A controversy is a dispute or argument in which people express strong opposing views ” When I asked Jenifer Neal (a mom) about the topic she said “Controversial means when there’s two extremely different views on a topic.” However, the meaning of controversy can vary from person to person.
Basically controversial can be when someone disagrees with a public opinion. One recent controversy at New Hartford is the new cell phone policy. When I asked a student from New Hartford Central High School, Mackenzie Conover, if she’s ever disagreed with a public opinion, she mentioned the cell phone policy.
“Yes, the cell phone policy because there’s a lot of people who agree with it and I don’t because I think we should be allowed to have them in study hall, ” Mackenzie said.
Mackenzie’s opinion is fair enough: if we have absolutely nothing else to do in study hall, why not allow students to use their phones?
But don’t think of controversy as an always negative thing because it can be good. “Controversy does two things. First, controversy makes things more interesting to talk about. It’s pretty boring if everyone has exactly the same opinion, so a little bit of dispute keeps the discussion stimulating. The different sides get to air their views and the debate can encourage conversation,” explained Jonah Berger, a marketing professor at the Wharton School and author.
According to Trevor Fobare, a senior at New Hartford Central High School, “Discussing controversy makes the reader wonder.”
For me controversy has its own positives and negatives that come with it. On one hand controversy can encourage people to share their interests and views leaving room for everyone to feel like they have a say in a topic and it can build up a greater audience.
On the other hand, not everyone will have the same opinion and controversial topics can be uncomfortable for people to discuss, especially with people who you might not know that well. It’s important to be careful because controversial topics can offend people.
