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Franzen on Facebook: Jonathan Franzen raises all the important issues when it comes to our technology and social media-obsessed culture in his recent essay “Liking is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts.” Aside from our incessant need for the latest gadget, the newest version of our smartphone of choice and a constant need to be connected, what Franzen really hones in on is the superficial and ultimately unsatisfying social practices that social media has generated and instilled in us. Thanks to social media, we are all constantly crafting and editing our lives and ourselves in order to present the best possible version to others. We have all become slaves to the “like” button — but liking is very different from loving, as Franzen points out; and no one will ever be able to truly love anyone else if no one is ever brave enough to expose their true selves, blemishes and all, without detagging. And maybe that’s the real fear, the fear of putting ourselves out there to be loved only to get hurt, so instead we just like. As Franzen puts it, “When you stay in your room and rage or sneer or shrug your shoulders, as I did for many years, the world and its problems are impossibly daunting. But when you go out and put yourself in real relation to real people, or even just real animals, there’s a very real danger that you might love some of them. And who knows what might happen to you then?” NYT
Twitter Controversy: So the question is did New York Rep. Anthony Weiner actually tweet a picture of his boxer-wearing half? The damning pic was posted to Weiner’s official account on yFrog, the Twitter picture service, but was apparently quickly deleted. Unfortunately, not quick enough: Publius grabbed a screenshot of the yFrog page with the picture. Weiner claims his account was hacked. Gawker
Idiots of the Day: Don’t text and drive, and don’t film someone texting and driving. Duh.
Not so Gaga: Looks like stamping Gaga’s name on something doesn’t always work. Zynga’s project with Gaga, GagaVille, didn’t get the astounding number of new users the social gaming company expected. All Things D
Video of the Day: Speaking of Gaga, in case you missed it, here is her appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. A little awkward to say the least.
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