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The Random Beauty of “25 Random Things”

February 12, 2009
by Robert Lanham
Author, The Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right

Robert Lanham

I was in the middle of typing up my “25 Random Things About Me” list on Facebook when a funny thing happened. I hit clear and decided to abandon the whole time-wasting endeavor. I’d made it through what I intended to be my sole entry before coming to my senses:

1. I like certain books and films and things that taste good. Also, kittens. Thanks for including me in this important social experiment. Now, please stop tagging me.

Over the past two weeks, I’d found my steady purr of status updates on Facebook interrupted by the ever-growing, viral cacophony of the “25 Random Things About Me” chain letter. In case you haven’t been “tagged” yet (fear not, you will be) the concept is simple. Generate a list of 25 “things, facts, habits or goals” about yourself in the notes section of your profile and hit submit. Then, annoy 25 of your Facebook friends by encouraging them to do the same. “If I tagged you,” the instructions explain, “it’s because I want to know more about you.”

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