Some of us may think that they are not guilty of this crime, but we all have some instances where we couldn't help it. Our excuses are all the same when confronted about this matter: "I paraphrased it, so it's not plagiarism." Yes, we paraphrased it, but the thought is still there. We are unable to accept that some of the ideas we tell the world about are simply made by others and we only edit some of the details. It is a terrible realization but it's the truth. Sadly, numerous people are still unaware of it. Plagiarism isn't just taking works of those who are well-known; it is taking any idea, so long as it doesn't belong to you, and passing it off as your own. It can happen when you hear someone tell a joke, and you take that joke so you can get a few laughs from your own crowd. It may be that you read a beautiful poem, and you wrote it down, giving it a few edits, so you can give it to your so-called sweetheart. Plagiarism can happen anywhere—it is most common, however, in social networking sites. The terrible truth about these famous posts on the internet is that the smart and the witty come up with it, but the pretty and the well-known make use of it. Once someone who isn't that famous on thd site posts something, it goes unnoticed and unappreciated. On the other hand, when those who have a lot of friends or followers post the exact same thing a few seconds later, it automatically skyrockets to the trending list, while those who shared it are clueless about where it really came from. We never actually know where half the things we laugh or talk about on the internet started. You'll never know, maybe it came from that girl you just called "loser" a while ago. It's quite disheartening because the person who took the idea was the one who got the credits, while the one responsible for the idea of the post itself gets nothing.

     You see, this is the reason why plagiarism should never be done. It is very disappointing how people these days find it so easy to take another person's work without giving much thought about all the effort the other put into it. You can use the ideas of others, but at least give them credit. Don't take what isn't yours.