With a constant stream of information coming from Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and the other countless social media websites, it’s hard to consistently be politically correct. People are constantly being called out for “problematic” tweets, pictures, and posts, regardless of the whether they intended for them to be offensive or not. It often seems that the only way to truly avoid being called out is to say nothing at all.

Most people, however, don’t want to have to resort to silence. This makes it increasingly necessary to be educated about political correctness, specifically in the aspects of what it is, when to use it, and how strictly one must abide by it.

Political correctness, as defined by Google, is “the avoidance, often considered as taken to extremes, of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.”

Even Google makes an effort to point out that the concept of being politically correct is often taken to unnecessary extremes. The extremism of political correctness is more evident than it has ever been due to social media, which can be seen in the way that constant accusations are made concerning “problematic” behavior. Often times, the original poster actually meant no harm at all. In turn, a question concerning political correctness frequently arises: when is it just too much?

At first glance, being politically correct seems to be a good practice to get into the habit of doing for countless reasons. It attempts to avoid offending other people, which is always a good thing. It aids in avoiding the possibility of being called out for being offensive, and it’s safe to say that no one likes to be called out. Overall, being politically correct can develop a person into having a thoughtful, considerate, and polite character due to the fact that they will take precise precautions in order to avoid hurting anyone else’s feelings.

However, strictly adhering to political correctness also has the potential to restrict people in various ways. When solely focusing on how others will react and only taking their feelings into consideration, it is hard to get honest opinions across. A wise saying by Aristotle goes, “To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.” In today’s world, having an opinion so bland that it can’t be criticized in any way seems to be the equivalent of being politically correct. These kinds of opinions, however, restrict honesty between people and limit a person’s critical thinking. This is especially true when people tend to overreact on the Internet, finding fault in a person’s opinion when there is actually none to be found.

Don’t mistake the allowance of being somewhat lax when it comes to political correctness in order to express genuine opinions and thoughts as an excuse to be blatantly rude, though. There’s a fine line between expressing your honest beliefs while still being proper and polite, and honestly expressing your opinions with absolutely no consideration of other people and their feelings.

It’s often hard to make the distinction between stating honest opinions while being considerate, yet not letting the consideration one has for others impair their opinions, and stating brutally honest opinions at the expense of others. There are quite simple guidelines one can follow to make this distinction.

To avoid being attacked for being “problematic” on social media, there are some general guidelines that should be followed. The first is significantly important: a person should not assert an opinion about something that they have no knowledge of. Following this rule would essentially render the following guidelines useless, but due to the overwhelming ignorance found on the internet nowadays, it seems necessary to include them as well. Other problematic topics that should not be mentioned on social media include, but are not limited to racism, sexism, homophobia, and misogyny. This should go without being said as these issues should not even exist to begin with, but unfortunately, they still do.

In addition, it seems that emphasizing the importance of political correctness leaves little room for genuine misunderstanding. These genuine misunderstandings seem to be the result of ignorance, which is not necessarily the fault of the person that is being problematic. For example, Cameron Dallas, a famous Viner, tweeted, “Don’t be depressed. Go out and make new friends. Talk to people.”

Dallas had the intention of simply trying to encourage those that are depressed to recover in hopes that they would one day be happy. Anyone that has ever suffered depression knows that this is easier said than done. The pure ignorance on Dallas’s behalf led him to being attacked with a seemingly endless amount of tweets that mocked him for what he said.

In addition to being prevalent on the Internet, political incorrectness is frequently found in the classroom. The instigators, unsurprisingly, are most often the students. Slurs are thrown around carelessly as if it’s no big deal, creating a great opportunity for offense to be taken. The most common issue that is misspoken about in politically incorrect terms at Palm Harbor University High School is most likely racism.

Given the fact that 82% of students at Palm Harbor University High School are white, some feel that it is okay to discuss race in politically incorrect terms since they assume the students around them will not take “direct” offense.

Obviously, it is not okay to speak offensively at any given moment—no matter who is or who isn’t around. Students need to be considerate of everyone, and political correctness should be strictly abided by in instances like these. It doesn’t make it any better or any more acceptable to say offensive things just because certain people aren’t present to hear them.

The fact that it is commonplace to hear students talk about race in insulting terms sheds light on how ignorant and uneducated some people can be. These people need to be willing to part with their discriminatory beliefs and have the initiative one needs in order to self-educate. It is crucial to be able to convey views in a good, politically correct way, while understanding what topics should be avoided all together. This is especially important when talking about race, as many Palm Harbor students are in no position to discuss such a complex topic.

Rather than aggressively calling someone out in order to correct what they have said, it seems more effective to simply and politely correct them. Misunderstandings and ignorance, like in Dallas’s instance, do not constitute good reasons to ruthlessly call someone out for being politically incorrect. In most cases, the “problematic” person should be educated about how what they have said is not politically correct, because this would help prevent further issues.

That being said, it is also not okay to let problematic people off-the-hook if they have said something highly offensive. Racism, sexism, and homophobia are among the most prevalent issues discussed on social media. If someone makes an offensive statement concerning one of these issues, it is an intellectual being’s responsibility to address the issue, educate the instigator, and prevent them from getting away with their disrespectful views.

All in all, being politically correct is an incredibly complex concept with many layers. Social media users can be found calling out other users for being “problematic” virtually every day, and many times, this calling out is for good reason. It is vital that people are educated about being politically correct so they know how to effectively communicate in person as well as online. It is critical to be politically correct to the extent that one does not blatantly insult and disrespect others, but perhaps not so much that free thinking and honest opinion is inhibited. It is, in fact, quite possible for one to express their opinion in a polite and constructive manner. With the concept of being politically correct, it is difficult to assert a definite opinion about when is too much or too little, but each person has the capability of using appropriate discretion when it comes to speaking their mind.