Why You Shouldn’t Trust Everything On The Internet

Submitted by Ginny V

You shouldn’t trust everything or everyone on the internet! Now, when reading this, you may be thinking: “Well, of course, I shouldn’t trust everyone on the internet!” You’re right, but it isn’t always that easy. That’s why over 24,000 people (about the seating capacity of Madison Square Garden) got catfished and believed all kinds of misinformation.

Catfishers

So, let’s talk about catfishers on dating apps like Tinder or Plenty of Fish. You probably know about them. How a handsome 17-year-old boy is a fat 39-year-old man living in his mom’s basement.  

On these apps, it can be hard to tell if someone is a catfish. If you’re desperate for a partner, you won’t notice that the person on the other side is different from who they say they are. 

Be suspicious. If you get a message on this app from this man that seems too good to be true, it might be. 

How to tell if you’re getting catfished? Look at the profile picture. Some people may take a picture of someone at their school and use that as their profile picture. 

Ask the person to facetime or send you a selfie of them doing something regular people wouldn’t do in pictures, such as putting their pinky finger on their forehead. This idea is from a video that YouTuber GradeAUnderA made. There is “R” rated content btw….

Now you should do the former since some people would say no if asked to put their pinky on their forehead even if they’re not a catfish, but you can try. 

Suppose the person keeps saying no to facetime or sending the pinkie selfie. In that case, they may think they’re too ugly, think it’s weird to take a selfie of themselves putting their finger on their forehead, or may just be a catfish. Especially if they keep saying no to facetime even though they have the time and stuff. 

How to not get tricked by misinformation

After reading this, you may be like, “Ok, I get it; there are liars on the internet. But how do I avoid getting tricked by these people?” Well, I’ll tell you. 

If you’re suspicious about the information you hear on the internet, check where you got that information from. 

If it’s on a website, check what website it’s on. Is it a credible source? You can search more about it or check the sources they use (ex. how many people get sick from COVID-19 each year). 

If it’s a YouTube video, also check the channel that made it and the sources they use. Most YouTubers, especially big and well-known YouTubers, have sources for their information. 

Now let’s say the website or YouTuber doesn’t have sources. Well, check other places, preferably credible sources (like going to the CDC to see COVID-19 cases). 

Some information can change over time. So, if a video or website made 2 years ago has information different from what it said in a recent video, then what it said could’ve been true 2 years ago. 

Conclusion

Therefore, don’t trust everyone on the internet! They could be a liar or someone different from who they say they are. Also, if you read something on the internet, always check it out by using a reliable source (Wikipedia doesn’t count) to make sure it is true. There is a lot of misinformation out there.

Thanks for reading!! 

About the Author 

Ginny V, my teenage daughter, has a strong opinion about many things. She is a student and a YouTube lover. Her future ambition is to be a writer or a computer programmer.