With the rise of the Internet and social media, it's easier than ever to stay on top of the news and learn all sorts of things.
On the one hand, we have access to an endless amount of information, whether it's finding out that Trump is ahead in the presidential election by six points or that leaving a raw, cut onion in the fridge can be the perfect host for all sorts of nasty bacteria.
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Those are both complete lies by the way.
If you didn't question what I wrote or didn't click the links to confirm my sources, then that's a problem.
Because on the other hand, there are all sorts of hoaxes, outright lies and simple misinformation because people are in a rush to push out a story or they just really enjoy being trolls.
I don't mean to sound cynical or like I'm bashing anyone who isn't an Internet skeptic. I just think that a couple extra seconds of doubt would do the world a lot of good.
Now, I'm a natural born optimist. I always try to see the good in everything and take what life has to offer as it comes. As a journalism major though--which is all about being objective, accurate and all that crucial stuff--I've had to compartmentalize that part of me and hold it at arm's length.
So if I see something that seems kind of sketchy, life if it's too outrageous or a little bit off, I check the source and/or cross reference it to see if it's actually true.
I've been intentionally doing this since my early days of high school. I've become great at searching through the Web as a result. Ask me to look for anything and everything, and I will comb through Google to hell and back until I can get you solid information.
Sometimes it can be fun to look something up and go, "Aha! I knew that couldn't be real!" But frankly,I'm kind of over that excitement, because now I just find the whole process exhausting.
And it's not like I have it down pat too. I still find myself tripping up because I didn't wait long enough to find something from a reputable source or just didn't care.
I don't like questioning everything. It would be a dream come true if I could always look at something on the Internet and not feel like I have to double-check sources and critically evaluate them, but the world just doesn't work like that.
It's even more difficult nowadays because it's easier to passively accept whatever you see and share it with your friends on Facebook instead of putting in the effort to verify it.
As the popular saying goes, "Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst."
Question everything. Be pragmatic. Stay alert.
And try to not get rick-rolled.
