ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author presents the case that Facebook produces a preference for personal disclosure and connection in ways that structure users' expectations of public life. He argues that viewing public life through the lens of the personal creates challenges for citizenship and democratic political institutions. Users on Facebook post all sorts of material. But the extent to which people self-disclose online is driven by the personal orientations, predispositions they bring to Facebook. When Facebook encourages "small-thing" group mobilization, it serves an important function in democratic societies. Local issues are important and need to be addressed and challenged when those affected might be harmed by a policy. Facebook serves as an extension of Sennett's observation of the public man in modernity and his preoccupation with the self. Facebook allows people to create a pre-selected venue where people can comfortably present oneselves to others, and to receive others' presentations of themselves.
