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- Posted April 12, 2012 by
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Personal Technology: From George Zimmerman to Robert Eringer, Internet Users Seek Refuge from Reality on the Web
Thanks to emerging technologies like Facebook, narcissism is on the rise. Shooter George Zimmerman, who killed unarmed Trayvon Martin six weeks ago, built a website for himself seeking money as he faced charges in the Trayvon Martin case. Robert Eringer, former intelligence adviser to Prince Albert of Monaco, has also built a web-empire dedicated to himself—not to raise money, but to gain supporters for view that Monaco is a haven for Russian criminals attempting to launder money there. What do George Zimmerman and Robert Eringer have in common?
The Internet.
Facebook. Instagram. Blogs. Personal Websites. Twitter Accounts. Formspring Accounts. The list hardly stops there for Robert Eringer and George Zimmerman. For these men, virtual reality is a haven from the harsher realities humans face offline.
Trayvon Martin’s family criticized George Zimmerman’s website as the man who killed their son was hit with a second-degree murder charge by prosecutors. Breaking news revealed that the law is, so far, on the side of slain Trayvon Martin’s family. At least for now, George Zimmerman is behind bars.
Like Zimmerman, Eringer, the defendant in a criminal defamation action filed by Prince Albert of Monaco in France, also knows a thing or two about the Internet. Eringer has created his own blogosphere of disenchantment with Russia and Monaco via multiple online social media accounts, websites, and blogs interelinked to himself. Robert Eringer has even authored an e-book with the elegant title, “Suck My Pen: How to Gut Goliath by Becoming an Interactive Hub of Dissent.” According to the book’s description—obviously also written by Robert Eringer—“Suck My Pen” instructs the reader “in simple, direct language how to use the Internet to tackle Goliath” and serves as “invaluable to anyone with a legitimate gripe against the rich and powerful.”
Facebook’s $1 billion acquisition of Instagram this week indicates the world of mobile social media is on the rise. As a recent study on narcissism pointed out, Facebook and other social media tools may also be crippling human beings from seeing the world clearly, keeping them in a loop of technology-infested naval gazing. Research culled at Western Illinois University linked the number of Facebook friends you have—in George Zimmerman and Robert Eringer’s case study, substitute personal websites, blogs, and social media accounts—and how active you are on the site to the likelihood of being a “socially disruptive narcissist.”
“Facebook gives those with narcissistic tendencies the opportunity to exploit the site to get the feedback they need and become the center of attention,” said the study’s author Chris Carpenter.
The Internet.
Facebook. Instagram. Blogs. Personal Websites. Twitter Accounts. Formspring Accounts. The list hardly stops there for Robert Eringer and George Zimmerman. For these men, virtual reality is a haven from the harsher realities humans face offline.
Trayvon Martin’s family criticized George Zimmerman’s website as the man who killed their son was hit with a second-degree murder charge by prosecutors. Breaking news revealed that the law is, so far, on the side of slain Trayvon Martin’s family. At least for now, George Zimmerman is behind bars.
Like Zimmerman, Eringer, the defendant in a criminal defamation action filed by Prince Albert of Monaco in France, also knows a thing or two about the Internet. Eringer has created his own blogosphere of disenchantment with Russia and Monaco via multiple online social media accounts, websites, and blogs interelinked to himself. Robert Eringer has even authored an e-book with the elegant title, “Suck My Pen: How to Gut Goliath by Becoming an Interactive Hub of Dissent.” According to the book’s description—obviously also written by Robert Eringer—“Suck My Pen” instructs the reader “in simple, direct language how to use the Internet to tackle Goliath” and serves as “invaluable to anyone with a legitimate gripe against the rich and powerful.”
Facebook’s $1 billion acquisition of Instagram this week indicates the world of mobile social media is on the rise. As a recent study on narcissism pointed out, Facebook and other social media tools may also be crippling human beings from seeing the world clearly, keeping them in a loop of technology-infested naval gazing. Research culled at Western Illinois University linked the number of Facebook friends you have—in George Zimmerman and Robert Eringer’s case study, substitute personal websites, blogs, and social media accounts—and how active you are on the site to the likelihood of being a “socially disruptive narcissist.”
“Facebook gives those with narcissistic tendencies the opportunity to exploit the site to get the feedback they need and become the center of attention,” said the study’s author Chris Carpenter.
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