The narcissistic social disorder that has enveloped global society takes many forms. The magazine puts a mirror on their cover to express the way our personal agendas are reflected in the You hypothesis. Of course, the mirror reflects everyone from Larry Page to Osama bin Laden. Like all mirrors, it has two sides, though, and turning the page reveals that reflections in a mirror do little to change the world beyond. In perhaps the most insightful essay in the magazine, "Andy Was Right", our 15 minutes of fame are replaced by a new aphorism, "On the Web, everyone is famous to 15 people."
The social apathy engendered by social networks, and the faith of the populace in the magic wand of the Internet, the $100 laptop, or the free viral video, may be the most effective mechanisms yet of maintaining the illusion of self-assuredness that is essential to that other fiction, the imagined society, where we are all united against bad stuff, and where you can indeed make a difference.






Article comments