Oversharing

Netflix announced today that they’ve found another thing to do with Facebook:

Starting today, Netflix members in the U.S. can share their favorite shows and movies on Netflix with friends by connecting to Facebook and agreeing to share.

Facebook is based NOT on people’s interest in what you’re doing/saying/thinking/watching, but on your assumption that people are interested in what you’re doing/saying/thinking/watching. Narcissism is the killer app.  Every Facebook user seems to be agreeing to an overarching social compact:  I will let you be self-obsessed, if you will let me do the same.

It’s really a perfect conversation, where everyone can talk without anyone having to listen.

But seeing people’s Netflix list is just too much.  Your rental list reveals your true self, instead of the mask you’ve spent years learning how to show.  A string of insipid romcoms?  Mindless 3D CGI-gagfests?  You’re just too easy to mock.  And if you go the other way, stuffing your list with classics, you open yourself up to whithering criticism (“You mean you haven’t seen Grand Illusion yet?”)

You might think that if no one really pays attention to what you say in Facebook, they will ignore  your Netflix list as well.  Ah, but that’s the rub — for the true narcissist, the one thing better than ignoring someone is putting them down.

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