Not everything has to be a debate online
I don't know quite how and when this cultural shift happened, but I've noticed that when I reply to random people on the internet, half the time the other person thinks I'm trying to start a debate. For a long time I fell into this trap as well, and was constantly frustrated by internet interactions but unable to figure out why.
It became crystal clear to me when I tried to correct someone online about something I experienced, and they started debating with me. (if you must know, it was about whether there was human trafficking on Silk Road, the dark web market, and since I had been on Silk Road multiple times and never seen such a thing—it really was just drugs and PDF guides on how to make fake IDs—I said so).
I was startled because to me, casual Internet exchanges are usually like cocktail party conversation—when I talk to someone at a social gathering, I don't expect them to become antagonistic towards me, especially if I'm sharing an anecdote about my experience. I usually let a lot of things slide in casual conversation; in real life, you really have to pick your battles or things can get awkward fast. Sometimes that's a good thing, like when you're standing up to your bigoted family member, but a lot of the time it's unnecessary. If I were at a cocktail party, I would gain nothing from trying to prove that Silk Road did not have human trafficking on it, especially to someone who was for some reason convinced that it did.
After I had this little revelation, I started to notice the tendency everywhere. So many bad feelings are manifested when conversations turn into debates, and for no good reason! How would things be different if we approached other people with curiosity, resisting the urge to "prove" our point? These bad feelings drain energy and promote misanthropy, which reduces our ability to act.
This is my invitation to you to consider how you interact with people on the internet. Are there instances where you can de-escalate instead of getting drawn into debate? I've started explicitly saying I don't want to debate (and if it's in the context of politics, telling the person that we're on the same side and we're all tired/angry/etc.) which helps sometimes. Social media wants us to escalate, because emotions running high drive engagement, but we can choose to behave differently. As cheesy as it sounds, I really do think small acts of... not kindness exactly, but prosocial behavior, when performed hundredfold, can make a difference.