The Many Faces of You

A fascinating and quick read, “The Many Faces of You,” follows Claire Cain Miller’s musings after Facebook suggests she should friend … herself! Published on the New York Times website 16 October 2010, the piece investigates Miller’s need to divide her Facebook presence into two separate accounts–one for private, and another for professional networks. Part of this is due to the “flat” nature of online relationships, as exemplified by this great analogy from sociologist Zeynep Tufekci:

“Your mom and your boyfriend are rarely in the same room, and that’s why Christmas and Thanksgiving are such a stressful time for people, because their worlds collapse. On Facebook you’re in a long extended Thanksgiving dinner with everyone you ever knew, and people find that difficult to deal with.”