The World Is(n't) a Scary Place

I've been on the Internet since sometime around 1994. I was fifteen years old when I got my first email account. Wow, showing my age here!! Back then, left to my own devices to figure out how to use the Internet and what to do with what I found there, I wasn't specifically taught about discernment. I knew not to disclose personal information to strangers online, but heck, that was basic for life anyway (would you chat with a stranger in a park then give him your home address and phone number?), but beyond that all information presented online was there for the taking.

It was basically common sense, logic, trial and error and a natural tendency to ask "why" and be skeptical that led me towards questioning "facts" online and seeking out as much truth as possible. I didn't really think about it too much over the years because most of my friends were pretty smart and logical as well and took things found online with a grain of salt as a rule. It didn't seem too big a deal.

But as I've gotten older and especially since becoming pregnant with my daughter in 2011 I've been exposed to way more "information" than ever before online. And the vast majority of this information is complete and utter CRAP.

Seriously. BULLSHIT. Conspiracy theories, misinformation, idiocy, and flat out lies.

It got me thinking. Sometimes it gets me angry. Sometime worried. Most of the time, I just feel like babbling about what I find. Laughing about it, picking it apart, or seriously looking into the truth behind it and learning something new if it turns out to be correct.

I've created this blog as a spot to collect my thoughts. Sometimes you just want to rant, so this is my outlet. Maybe it'll be informative for others running into the same kinds of information. Maybe it'll be funny. Maybe we'll even learn some new things along the way.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you find something interesting here. If nothing else, take away this message: If something you read about online doesn't "feel right" to you, then follow your heart and follow your mind. Do some research, sort out the details, and make your own (fully informed) decisions that work best for yourself and your family. Don't follow the crowd on either side of any story just because it seems like the thing to do. Don't listen to someone who looks like a professional if what they're saying has even the smallest hint of feeling "off". Be safe, be healthy, and be reasonable.

The world isn't as scary a place as the Internet would have you believe.