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What we've been reading: Selfie, clickbait and Easton Ellis

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31st May 2018
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Welcome to What We've Been Reading, the AccountingWEB editors’ weekly round up of the stories that have caught their attention.

You've almost made it through the four day week. Don't bother working harder to compensate for the lost day; instead, here is some reading material.

Self-obsessed is one way to describe our editorial team, but it is also one of the topics in this week's reading batch which also includes clickbait (not guilty) and the artistic prowess of Bret 'American Psycho' Easton Ellis. 

While it is great that you enjoy our witterings, we hope to hear your reading recommendations. Comment below with your listening, reading or watching suggestions. 

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Richard: Selfie - How the West became self-obsessed by Will Storr

Richard HattersleyWe’re all a bit self-obsessed these days.

You can’t walk down the street without someone flinging an iPhone in your mug to snap a selfie.

And who hasn’t lost hours endlessly scrolling down the bottomless Facebook news trough? Each scroll summons another “isn’t my life fantastic” happy face. The Facebook ‘like’ describes exactly the opposite of what you’re feeling.

It’s no wonder then that these social pressures have led to an increase in depression and suicide. Social perfectionism and self loathing goes hand in hand.

I’m sure you can think of examples where perfectionism has affected your career; maybe that is the pressure to be a certain way, worried how your colleagues/clients receive you or have the ‘tribal’ expectations of what success looks like undercut your achievements?

But none of this is a current phenomenon. Journalist Will Storr tracks humanity’s relationship with itself from comparing the tribal social acceptance seen in chimps to that of an East End criminal called John and the ancient Greeks’ idea that being physically beautiful was the same as being ethically good (it’s what they called kalokagathia).

The book is a fascinating read and examines how the self and culture has shaped our image of perfection.

Valme: How everything on the Internet became clickbait

Valme ClaroThe Internet may be the vessel that contains all human knowledge and information, but there is also plenty of space in it for stupidity, even in, otherwise, respectable and high-quality media. Part of the problem is clickbait content, those eye-catching headlines that will attract your attention, usually promising more than they deliver.

The rise of clickbait can be explained by factors such as the search for revenue increase as well as competitiveness between media. And while clickbait headlines might look as a new Internet-era issue, the fact is that print media have been using the same strategies since the 19th century. The Internet, as a source of news, has just amplified them.

So while annoying, it doesn’t look like we will stop seeing clickbait headlines anytime soon. After all, we may rationally know that most of them make media more sensationalist and the Internet generally a worse place, but our sense of curiosity is innate. We will keep on falling for them.

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Francois: Bret Easton Ellis and the future of fiction

FrancoisReading American Psycho was a watershed moment in my reading life. It’s a definite before-after milepost. I read it aged 16, right when my tastes were transitioning from young adult fiction to more challenging works.

The book punched me right in the gut. A lot of the razor sharp, pitch black satire was lost on me at the time, but after re-reading it (and watching the excellent film adaptation) Bret Easton Ellis’s debut holds a special place in my heart.

I’ve long been fascinated by Ellis. He seems surly and obstinate, but redeems himself through his startlingly honest appraisal of his own faults. This interview, I think, captures his complex personality.

I do wish he’d stop dilly-dallying and write some more books, though.

 
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