Facebook Fatigue

Today on the list: Teens report Facebook fatigue, Israel’s crackdown on boycotts, and where have all the protest songs gone?

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

The links below open in a new window. Newer ones are on top.

ACLU Reminds Louisiana Cops They Can’t Stop People From Photographing the Oil Spill Some updates on the incident I reported on last week, in which an off-duty Louisiana sheriff’s deputy working for BP’s private security detail harassed an environmental activist who was neither on BP’s property nor breaking any laws.

Teens Experiencing Facebook Fatigue Online gaming site Roiworld surveyed 600 teens ages 13 to 17 in late April and found that teens spend two hours per day online on average, 80% of which is spent using a social network. These same teens are, however, showing signs of “Facebook Fatigue.” Nearly one in five (19%) who have an account no longer visit Facebook or are using it less.

Plato’s stave: academic cracks philosopher’s musical code Historian claims Plato’s manuscripts are mathematically ordered according to 12-note scale.

BP in the Gulf — The Persian Gulf To frustrated Americans who have begun boycotting BP: Welcome to the club. It’s great not to be the only member any more!

Where have all the protest songs gone? The rise-up anthems are out there, minstrels say, but you have to know where to listen.

‘Mozart Effect’ Was Just What We Wanted To Hear The newest issue of the journal Intelligence has the largest review ever of research on the so-called Mozart Effect, the popular idea that listening to classical music can enhance the intelligence of people in general and babies in particular.

DIGITAL IMAGE FOUNDER SMOOTHS OUT PIXELS More than 50 years ago, the first digital image was captured. Now the creator of that image wants to smooth out the square pixels that make up most digital images.

So You Think You Can Imam The U.S. has “American Idol.” Britain has “The X Factor.” Malaysia, one of the world’s more progressive Muslim nations, has something rather different—a televised search for the country’s most eligible young religious leader.

Israel’s anti-boycott belligerence A bill seeking to outlaw boycotts of Israeli institutions and products — including in settlements — is diplomatically explosive.