I have this habit of coming off as a know-it-all. When we were younger, my sister, brother, and I were known around "the smart kids." I had a ton of self-esteem issues related to other parts of myself, but how smart I was? Overconfident in my abilities, to say the least.
You know that kid in your class who would correct the teacher? That was me. I would correct my mom as well (my siblings did too), and when she responded with how it annoyed her when we did this, I usually responded that she shouldn't have encouraged us to be so studious.
Basically, I was a top-notch prat Percy Weasley would have been proud of.
After some tumble-down-to-earth moments and a boyfriend who calls me out when I need it, I don't correct others as often when talking.
Enter: The Internet. Where false information easily researchable spreads faster than the flames on gas-soaked wood.
If you're like me, this particular political season is trying, at best. At its worst, it's downright unbearable. But I'm here to share some of my tips on how to not stress yourself and maintain relationships:
1. First, verify the information.
If you see information you're not sure about, look it up. It's always important to consider the source, and any bias it potentially has. For example, meme images with super-imposed text can be quickly checked out by searching for keywords in the text. Is it pu
2. See if it's timely information, or referencing old information. This happened recently with a tweet I saw on my feed, stating the DNC showed an image of a Russian boat in a video for US military. I clicked on the link, to read the article and saw it was from the 2012 election. While it did happen, it's not exactly the best information to reference for their argument (which was against this year's DNC).
3. See if the information is based on contextual magic.
Here's the thing about numbers: they can be manipulated to read whatever you want given the right criteria to filter on. Same goes with quotes. Is someone picking and choosing what words to highlight, or did they stop too early?
In short, the information you're reading might be true, but within what context?
4. Ask yourself, "Do I need to say something?"
This is arguably the hardest step. For me, I feel like if someone just knew they were wrong, then they would see my side of things and say, Oh! My bad! Because that's how I would respond (and have). It's a hard lesson I'm learning, that not everyone would do the same. There are people who don't care if something's true or not, and it's not worth the effort of arguing it on the internet.
5. If you do decide to say something, there are three options:
5a. Put it out there, but not really put it out there.
This one is a longtime favorite of mine. I have written many emotionally charged responses, and by the time I finished, I said, Forget it, and deleted it all. It's cathartic to get my feelings out there, even if I never do actually send those words along. I also verbalize frustrations with mis-information with those I know who will understand--aka I rant outloud to my boyfriend. And he doesn't always agree with me, but it helps to get it off my chest.
5b. Be as succinct and fact-based as possible.
This is the tactic I use with family and friends that I know will not change their minds. Just a quick line of how an image has been photoshopped, or how the blog they link to isn't correct because of xyz, with appropriate links for all. Get in, get out. It can even be as short as, "That's been debunked," with a link to the Snopes article. (I recently used this exact line for the oft-shared false Donald Trump quote about Republican voters being dumb. You know the one.)
5c. If you are emotionally driven, say so!
There are a lot of negative connotations with the term "millennial", usually relating to how we're "an entitled generation". As someone who freely identifies as such, it riles me up when someone paints all people born in a certain generation with a wide brush, especially one I'm a part of.
6. Know when to walk away.
You can tell when you're punching a brick wall. It's good to know your limit of what your sanity can take. Sometimes, that means putting down the phone, and removing yourself completely from the situation for a bit.
Overall, I feel that misinformation can be stopped, that we can bring truth and understanding and perspective to debate.
Then again, besides being a know-it-all, I've always been an optimist.