Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg has recently received large amounts of media attention. Between privacy concerns regarding Facebook, lawsuits against Zuckerberg, a recent 60 Minutes story about him, and the movie The Social Network, Zuckerberg has become a household name. On December 15, his name was immortalized when he was named Time Magazine’s 2010 Person of the Year (www.dailytech.com).

Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” title is often confused in this day and age. Person of the Year is not given to somebody for being a good human being, rather the prize is given to the most influential person of that time period. Indeed, Richard Stengel, Time Magazine’s managing editor and essayist, wrote: “Person of the Year is not and never has been an honor” (www.time.com).

For example, in 1938 Hitler was chosen as the Person of the Year, and Joseph Stalin was chosen in 1939 and 1942 (www.examiner.com). Both were infamous, megalomaniacal dictators, but their influence on the world was enormous.

“I think that they are a year late with giving Zuckerberg the title. Worldwide, I think that Julian Assange was the most notorious figure of 2010,” said English teacher, Mr. Yochum. “I loathe Facebook and everything that it represents, so Zuckerberg is the perfect man for a post that was previously held by Adolf Hitler.”

In fact, there was a great deal of controversy regarding Zuckerberg’s status as Person of the Year. One reason was that, as Mr. Yochum pointed out, Julian Assange, who was a runner-up, along with Hamid Karzai, The Tea Party, and the Chilean Miners, was seen by many as the top choice (www.wired.com).

Still, many see Facebook as an institution in modern life and, therefore, a major influence. Junior Mohini Walavalkar agreed with this ideology, saying, “Facebook has revolutionized communication between people, but I’m sure there are other people who had more influence. Still, I think that he did deserve it in a sense.”

Junior Paul Austin expanded on this view, saying, “I think [Zuckerberg] should have won. Facebook has infiltrated our lives so much, especially for high schoolers.”