An Oldie by Christine Rosen

Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism (A timely reminder via Stephen Hand.)

From The New Atlantis

VIRTUAL FRIENDSHIP AND THE NEW NARCISSISM

by Christine Rosen

The impact of social networking websites is already obvious in language (where to friend is now a verb), in politics (where presidential candidates catalogue their virtues on MySpace), and on college campuses (where shunning Facebook can be a social handicap). But we are only beginning to come to grips with the broader consequences of our use of these sites. Does this technology, with its constant pressures to collect friends and build status undermine our ability to attain what we want most from it—a surer sense of who we are and where we belong? Christine Rosen weighs the costs of online social networking.

SOLDIERS FOR RENT

by Habib Moody

The controversy over the role Blackwater USA played in a deadly shootout in Baghdad on September 16 raises larger questions about the use of private contractors—especially military provider firms like Blackwater—in Iraq. [Read more...]