Character Evaluation

The Social Network

I find Mark Zuckerberg fascinating; he is intelligent yet socially inept, lacking the confidence in other people and himself. Zuckerberg frequently displays his neuroticism with angry hostility, impulsiveness, and strong self-consciousness behaviors. He is also calm, secure in himself, and at ease when working on his website. Mark is reserved, quiet, and aloof; showing signs he is not extroverted but rather, an introvert. He is creative, imaginative, and has many ideas to improve facebook. Mark often is lost in his daydreams, fantasies, and complex thoughts which interrupt his social life. Zuckerberg has the competence and self-discipline that helps him persevere in his business. He strives for achievement with order in his life.

“Mark Zuckerberg is a sweet looking 19 year old whose lack of any physical intimidating attributes makes a very complicated and dangerous anger. He has trouble making eye contact and sometimes it’s hard to tell if he’s talking to you or to himself” (p.2, para.1). Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, is highly intelligent, self-driven, complex young man who may be neurotic. Although he is open to new experiences, Mark lives in his own little world of computers and lacks the emotional response or understanding of social etiquette. When something does not go Mark’s way, he becomes angry, almost vengeful. He is quiet and reserved but determined and hard-working.

Mark took advantage of others around him; his friends, classmates, and the Internet; to benefit his own image of popularity. He is not a social person but people around him are and he becomes a millionaire for creating a website that helps people connect even more. “Mark was the biggest thing on campus that included 19 Nobel Laureates, 15 Pulitzer Prize winners, two future Olympians and a movie star” (p. 66). Mark does not care about money or friends; he only cares about himself and his business. This becomes clear to others around him when he does not think about how other people may feel. Publishing negative things about his girlfriend on the Internet and not apologizing for it is one way Mark behaves without thinking of others around him.

During a deposition, Mark is looking out the window watching it rain; he comments on the rain. He is not fully engaged in the conversation and believes he should not be there. “You have part of my attention…the minimum amount. The rest of my attention is back at the offices of Facebook where my colleagues and I are doing things that no one in this room…are intellectually or creatively capable of doing” (p. 75). Mark is typically detached from the people around him, he is always thinking of a way to improve Facebook. At meetings, he is unengaged in conversations only answering when directly asked a question, limited eye contact, and making sounds and gestures suggesting he is wasting his time sitting there talking with people.

References

Axia College (2011). Dispositional Traits and the Prediction of Behavior. Five Basic Traits. Retrieved March 27, 2011 from Axia College, PSY230 website.

The Social Network Movie (2011).

Sorkin, Aaron (n.d.) The Social Network Screenplay. Retrieved March 27, 2011 from http://flash.sonypictures.com/video/movies/thesocialnetwork/awards/thesocialnetwork_screenplay.pdf