Although plagiarism is not new, the rate and frequency of plagiarism has steadily (and somewhat alarmingly) risen in the past twenty years, coinciding with the ease of access to the Internet. The current generation of students - Gen Z, they've been labeled - is growing up in a world of sharing, a world where, with a quick tap of a button, ownership of thought seems obsolete; whether it's a meme or an article or a retweet, originality ("Who said it first?") takes a backseat to authenticity ("Who said it best?"). Historically, educators have responded to plagiarism with punitive measures, which are not only ineffective but also fail to address the root causes of plagiarism and the crucial role educators play in inadvertently perpetuating the process. As educators, the author states, it is their responsibility to modify their methods to guide the kind of ethical sharing that can help students see themselves as a part of the larger academic community and rethink what it means to teach and evaluate critical thought in the digital age. According to the author, teachers need to explicitly teach students how to use research as inquiry and how to utilize that research to foster thought.