Facebook Will Erase Your Ex
http://www.dailydot.com/technology/facebook-break-up-features/
1) What evidence does Facebook use to indicate the end of a relationship? Which numbers would be most convincing that this is a valuable resource? Whose opinion on this matter would give the most credence?
2) In what ways would a divorce lawyer and a marriage counselor differ in opinion? Why might Mark Zuckerberg and an artist have different opinions? Whose perspective is left out of this article?
3) In what ways is this connected to health? To what degree is this connected to geography? How might we view connections between this update and Facebook's new logo redesign?
4) In what ways would this story be different if Facebook made you pay for this service? How might this be different if it was paired with news that Facebook was acquiring an online dating website?
5) What assumptions does the article make about modern dating? What are the short-term implications for psychology? What are the long-term implications for Facebook's finances as a result of this issue?
Extension Activities:
1) Students can draw comparisons to this article and the Pope poem "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and design a Venn diagram showing contrasts and comparisons.
2) Students can write an advertisement for the new service.
AoK: Human Sciences
WoK: Emotion, Ethics