Page 1122 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

comfortable others are joining in.”

Nevertheless, some online reaction to Zuckerberg’s claims was 8

hostile. “He’s an idiot,” wrote one social networker; “Poppycock,” said

another.

Experts in the social networking phenomenon are also concerned. 9
The erosion of privacy, they say, brings dangers for both individuals

and the wider body politic.

Sherry Turkle, professor of social studies of science at 10

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said insensitivity to privacy

“shows a disregard of history and the importance of privacy to
democracy and, I might add, intimacy. Young people are not

unconcerned about this matter. But they feel impotent.”

Even Zuckerberg, 25, is not truly comfortable letting it all hang out. 11

When a change to Facebook’s privacy settings happened recently, it
revealed pictures on his profile page of him larking around with

friends. In some he looked a bit of a dork. When news of the

photographs spread, the images suddenly disappeared again.

Last week a Facebook spokeswoman was backpedalling 12
vigorously, denying Zuckerberg had said privacy was dead. “His

remarks were mischaracterized,” she said. “A core part of Facebook’s

mission has always been to deliver the tools that empower people with

control over their information.” She added: “If the assertion is that

anything Mark chooses to make private is inconsistent with his