“Error never shows itself in its naked reality, in order not to be discovered. On the contrary, it dresses elegantly, so that the unwary may be led to believe that it is more truthful than truth itself.”

While reading an article for my online course, I came across this quote by Irenaeus of Lyons from the 2nd century.

What he means is that error, or false promises or justifications, can be hiding underneath the seemingly most truthful of statements. Funny that something said so long ago can still be applied to our society today.

In our world, with the Internet and exponential surge of technology, it’s easy to find virtually anything in terms of advice, suggestions, or what have you.

There’s advice columns, links on Facebook to the best places to visit or shop, and suggestions on what to do to be a more interesting person.

Don’t get me wrong, those Buzzfeed, NowThis, and Elite Daily articles are fun to read, but all too often we become easily persuaded to believe whatever we read, especially when it is displayed online with visually pleasing Gifs.

Well I’m here to say, don’t believe it. Don’t believe that if you do those top ten things that’ll it’ll instantly make you more happy. Don’t believe that if you’re not eating a particular food or following a particular site that’ll it’ll be worth your while.

Don’t believe it.

Because there’s error in this. An elegantly dressed error.

You must be thinking that I’m being hypocritical. If I’m telling you to not believe something, why should you listen to me? Well, that choice is certainly up to you.

Everything you read online should be filtered to your particular beliefs on a matter, including everything I’m writing in this article.

Now, of course, everyone in their right mind wouldn’t believe everything they’ve read or heard or watched on the Internet. It’s almost common sense not to.

But slowly and surely, that common sense is becoming less and less common. People, especially trained, professional writers and columnists, can easily entice you into believing why and how you should be doing something a certain way.

You can heed this advice, because there are so many things on the Internet that certainly are helpful. But again, you should also filter it.

But remember, there's probably little error in saying there are pictures of "10 Dogs That'll Brighten Your Day".