Skepticism

I am not sure if the subject matter of the following quite fits the requirements of this assignment, but I had something on my mind and I rather write about something that I care about then write about something only because I am forced…. so…

Email Forwards. MySpace Bulletins. Most of you have seen these in one form or the other. These forwards are full of information concerning an array of topics with anecdotes, warnings and advice about nearly everything. While these messages seem helpful, they have one major flaw: they are nearly always, in a word, FALSE.

Each time I see one of these bulletins or forwards, I search the subject matter at Snopes (which, itself, is a comprehensive list of urban legends). Nearly every time I do this, I find the information to be wrong. This is becoming increasingly annoying and for one particular reason which I will describe below.

People like my Mom receive these messages. In fact, she has one such message concerning helpful “home remedies” posted on her refrigerator. However, as can probably be assumed, most of these tips are not medically proven and, in fact, some can even be dangerous.

As a further example of why most of these bulletins and forwards are worthless, I point to one that I just received from a close girlfriend. It spoke of the great dangers of a drug called “Progesterex,” which is apparently being used in combination with other date rape drugs to sterilize women to keep the evidence of the crimes done against the females unapparent. The forward I received was very convincing and told horrid, rather conceivable, stories. But being skeptical, I checked Snopes and was led here. As you see can see, the warnings are not only unfounded because the mentioned events have never happened- more amazingly- the drug doesn’t even exist!!

I guess my point is to advise people to be skeptical and question the things they read online. If what you are reading sounds extraordinarily amazing or seems to be something so obvious that you should have known about it before, it is likely that it is false. So I suggest, if you are interested, to utilize Snopes in such a situation.