However I feel very strongly about this particular theme, so please indulge me while I have a small vent. It's nothing specific, it's a general trend that I find disturbing and annoying. It's the habit people - and I'm not pointing the finger at anyone here, I'm just speaking in a world wide kind of way (that's a play on words by the way, you'll get it in a minute) -... I digress. It's the habit people have formed of sharing information that is usually inflammatory in nature without lifting a finger (quite literally) to check on their sources and on the veracity of the information they have just shared.
It doesn't matter what it is; whether it's religious, political, human interest, animal care, whatever - if you don't make sure your sources are sound you could well be spreading a load of codswallop. There are trolls on the internet folks (get it? internet, world wide web, world wide way, ok well it was kind of weak), and they spread misinformation for a number of reasons. Sometimes it's political, sometimes it's personal, sometimes it's nothing more than mischief making.
It can be very plausible, the best kind of fiction is extremely plausible which is fine in a book, but not when it is aimed at a gullible, lazy or restless public. People don't check their facts and/or sources for a variety of reasons too. Maybe they are completely gullible and believe everything they read, maybe they have their own agenda and want to believe it so badly that they choose not to check their facts, maybe they too are mischief makers and love to spread misinformation just because they can.
With the internet comes ease of sharing. With ease of sharing comes responsibility. It is YOUR responsibility, dear reader, to disbelieve everything you read unless it comes from a reputable source and even then check the facts. It's not hard to do. If you read something that you think needs to be shared with the rest of the world, before you hit that 'share' button go onto Google and check your facts. Don't just go to the website that purported to disperse this information, go to a number of different websites. It's all too easy to make a website and to design it to look legitimate and trustworthy. Go to as many websites as you can find, and try to find reputable websites. If they all say the same thing then by all means hit that 'share' button. But if you find discrepancies then it is your responsibility to chase that information, to persist until you are certain you have found the truth. If the truth matches your information, go ahead and hit the 'share' button. But if you can't be sure, if you can't find anything definite one way or the other - don't do it.
Cyber bullying is on the rise, mass bullying of businesses and individuals for no other reason than a campaign to discredit them. The campaign may be accurate, it also may be a complete fallacy. You, the public, have a responsibility to NOT be part of a cyber bullying campaign. Yes, report and share injustice, cruelty, and any other form of bad behaviour. But be sure first that you are not being used by an individual or a group for their own agenda, which has very little to do with the thing you believe you are showing to the world.
Think, dear readers, be responsible, be cautious, be careful. The world is full of people trying to change the world for the better and it is also full of people with the opposite aim. The latter will use and abuse the former whenever and however they can. So, before you hit the 'share' button - research research research. Use you head, not your emotions.
Rant over *hops off soapbox*
Any other news? I'm writing, the new book that will not let me rest. I'm writing an average of 5000 words a day. I'm halfway through it already and it has such a strong hold on me that I'm doing very little else. I'm not even drawing. This book is taking up all of my time and most of my head. Even the words that swirl around in my brain seem to be flowing into the book. At the end of the day I don't even have a script running in the forefront of my mind, nor do I have any words swirling in circles. The colours in my mind that blend in with the circling words are gone too. At the end of a writing day my head is empty. It's the strangest feeling, and I feel a bit like a zombie without the script and the colours and the words. I sleep much better though, and when I wake the words and colours and script are back.
Basically, I was born to be a writer and now that I'm living what I was destined to do I'm so much more at peace with myself. Whatever you were born to do, find it and live it - it will change your life, I promise.
Yes, Mark Twain did really say this - I checked
No comments:
Post a Comment