Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism

The New Atlantis - Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism - Christine Rosen

Self-portraits can be especially instructive. By showing the artist both as he sees his true self and as he wishes to be seen, self-portraits can at once expose and obscure, clarify and distort. They offer opportunities for both self-expression and self-seeking. They can display egotism and modesty, self-aggrandizement and self-mockery.
Today, our self-portraits are democratic and digital; they are crafted from pixels rather than paints. On social networking websites like MySpace and Facebook, our modern self-portraits feature background music, carefully manipulated photographs, stream-of-consciousness musings, and lists of our hobbies and friends. They are interactive, inviting viewers not merely to look at, but also to respond to, the life portrayed online. We create them to find friendship, love, and that ambiguous modern thing called connection. Like painters constantly retouching their work, we alter, update, and tweak our online self-portraits; but as digital objects they are far more ephemeral than oil on canvas.

As the essay notes, this was once an issue only for the elite few: politicians, hollywood stars and musicians. Now, we all have our presence in the public eye; what ramifications should we be looking for down the road?
Also see: Ypulse's "Reflections on Youth & Technology"