While many people still rely on television and radio for their news, today a lot of people seem to get their updates through social media such as Facebook or Twitter on their computers or phones. This can become complicated when the news turns out to be a rumor or a hoax. Recently, a rumor was going around stating that the state of California issued an earthquake warning. While we don’t have the technology or ability to predict earthquakes, this still scared many individuals who did not research the source of the information. The hoax started on Twitter and continued to rapidly spread through text messages. It’s scary to think about our reliance on social media and on how we can be so easily influenced. If it’s so difficult for those of us who have not grown up with these social media influences to separate reality from fiction, it’s interesting to think about how difficult this separation is on children now.