With technological innovation and the introduction of me-centric online worlds (e.g., blogs, youtube channels, and social networking sites), more than ever before, we have the opportunity to carefully craft a public personality and hope for a measure of celebrity. Many have commented on how this might affect kids who grow up enveloped in these technologies and learn to value, or take-for-granted, the kind of life that they facilitate.

In addition to the fact that mistakes, easily chocked up to immaturity, are now often irrevocable, even viral… some are concerned with rising rates of narcissism, which is correlated with high rates of depression when an unrealistic sense of self comes face-to-face with reality.

Jay Smooth, reflecting on Michael Jackson’s life, beautifully articulates pretty damn profound concerns:

If you don’t follow Jay Smooth, I can’t recommend him enough.

More Jay on SocImages here, here, here, and here.

And here’s his website, Ill Doctrine.

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Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.