Description
Book SynopsisSexting. Cyberbullying. Narcissism. People-and especially the media-are consumed by fears about the effect of social media on young people. We hear constantly about the dangers that lurk online, and about young people''s seemingly pathological desire to share anything and everything about themselves with the entire world. Donna Freitas has traveled the country, talking to college students about what''s really happening on social media. What she finds is that, while we focus on the problems that make headlines, we are ignoring the seemingly mundane, but much more widespread, problems that occur every day. Young people, she shows, feel enormous pressure to look happy all the time-and not just basically content, but blissful, ecstatic, inspiring and successful in their personal, professional, and academic lives-regardless of how they actually feel. Of course, these young adults are not that happy, at least not all of the time, and the constant exposure to the seemingly perfect lives of ot
Trade ReviewShe [Freitas] limits herself to a single topic -- the effect of social media on the lives of college students -- that turns out to have myriad dimensions, each of them explored in informative, artfully crafted chapters on selfies and self-image, sex and sexting, public and private identity, and more. * The Gospel Coalition *
Ms. Freitas's detailed survey adds substance to her compelling thesis. Her interviews with 184 randomly selected, diverse students from 13 colleges - public and private, selective and less so - covered faith, parents, selfies, sexting and individual social-media histories... Some of her interviews contain real gems. One woman reported being so attached to her phone that, mugged for it on a bus, she pursued the muggers and to get it back gave them $150. * Laura Vanderkam, Wall Street Journal *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Masters of Happiness1) The Importance of Being "Liked"2) The Professionalization of Facebook3) My Name is My Brand and My Brand is Happiness!4) The Selfie Generation5) Performing for God6) Virtual Playgrounds7) An Acceptable Level of Meanness8) So You Wanna Make that Facebook Official?9) The Ethics of Sexting10) My Smartphone and Me11) Taking a Timeout from the TimelineConclusion: The Problem with HappinessAppendix: MethodologyNotesBibliographyIndex
