Hello fellow millennials,

With everything going on, it's so important to talk about what I'm going to write about today, and that is what I've labeled to be the problem most millennials share. We are systematically sharing, and spreading misinformation across the internet. Whenever we hit the share button-- we have to make sure we know the 5 W's when it comes to that information. We share posts, articles, write statuses, post memes, and do all these things without checking ourselves out. With the accessibility of our social media, it's now more important then ever that we share things AFTER thinking about them. The 5 W's for those who might have never heard the term are: Who (who wrote this, and are they a credible source?) What (what am I sharing?), When (when was this written, is it still relevant?)Where (where was this written, where is their information from?) and Why (why is this being written, what is this individuals/organizations' motive?) Our generation has the burden of picking up the mess that is the baby boomer and generation x demographic. Growing up for a lot of people in our generation has been great- we are all privileged to have been born in a country such as the United States. Make no mistake, this is in fact the BEST country in the world, however, it's not perfect. Now, on to what our problem is- most of the modern media is biased, and this tends to lean towards the left or right- and this is why it's so essential to figure out news from sources that aren't just blogs, or "wordpress" articles also, looking at you Nowthis.com and Buzzfeed.)

You can find information supporting just about any article- and nothing detracts from debate or an article or even a good point your making like the credibility just being absent. I know that I've been guilty of falling under the influence of media bias. Now, we all have bias, and it's important to be able to look at both sides of an issue. Just because you do not agree- it doesn't give you the right to name-call, insult, berate, or harass someone. Now this is a good passage into the next issue, emotions. In the real world, people do not care about how something make you feel. In the workplace, no one cares that you have had an argument with your significant other, and as young professionals, it's on us to leave that stuff with the people close to us, and we trust, like our friends, family, and psychiatrists/counselors.

Now, I won't mock the idea of a safe space for people, this is important. There are so many mental illnesses and research that show that depression and anxiety are not made up issues. Attacking people on this is wrong. Now, if you don't suffer from anxiety, depression, ADHD, etc, it's a lot more difficult to understand. Being aware of mental illnesses and making people aware of the problem, is not weakness. It can be extremely difficult to do things with someone when they have to deal with any of those issues, and having a place that is designated to be a safe area for panic/anxiety attacks or personal issues-- I don't see what people think is so wrong about that. If you don't understand it-- congratulations for not needing a safe space, but please have respect for people who do need it, now back to emotions in argument: just don't do it. Your feelings are not a valid argument. In an argument it is important to have facts. Feelings are fine to have, but they have no place in your argument other than personal validation. I feel very strongly about feminism because of my experiences, and feelings towards women. My argument for feminism should be based on fact, not feelings-- and the fact is, women are not paid the same as men, and until that changes equality is out of reach. There are various other points that I could bring up, but to ensure I'm being concise I'm just using this point as an example. I used a link, which ends in .org, not .com. This signifies that it is an organization behind the publication not a paid company. .gov and .edu are great resources and when you google something to fact check and never limit yourself to one source, or collect supporting data and facts for your argument. But it is so important to accept that you will not always be right. Having open-mindedness is only fair. If someone is willing to listen to you and your evidence, hear your side, you should return the courtesy instead of reverting to immature name-calling. We are all adults, and it's time to stop losing credibility by sharing without thought. More on fact checking.

This Election has been an emotional one for many people.

Earlier I said that people will not care about your feelings, and this is true. They do not add anything to your argument, or your debate. I am not saying it's wrong to have feelings, but I believe that there is a time and place for them. Name-calling (once again) is immature and will not get you anywhere. People will not always be swayed by your argument, even if your logic, facts, and credibility is flawless, there will be people that are wrong (including me, and you) and will not see that they are. Then there are people who will take opinion-- and try to pass it as fact, again, we must scruitinize the information we share and read, and pass along before we just blindly share it. The internet has a wealth of information- it has a lot of misinformation and a lot of fact. Hopefully,using the 5 W's as a basic check will help you see the truth behind the lies that both sides of the media tell. Think about who owns what news source you're reading. Remember, we are supposed to surpass the previous generation, not fall into the same problems they created and have. Think about your Facebook-- are you sharing something you'd want your employers to see? It is now, more important than ever to fact check what you're reading, what you're sharing. As one of my professors said, "question everything!"

I hope that moving forward you can sort fact, from opinion, bias against truth. I hope that we as millennials can be the champions of professionalism and the torch in the dark for generations to come.