I Like Whites (Because They're So On Top Of Things)

I owe a certain 13-year-old an apology.

On Mashable a couple of months ago, teenager Ruby Karp wrote a blog post headlined, "I'm 13 and None of My Friends Use Facebook." When the post went viral and major media outlets began pontificating about "the decline of Facebook," I quickly penned a rather critical response. Karp's anecdotes, I pointed out, were no substitute for real data, and it was silly for journalists to draw sweeping generalizations about Facebook's future on the basis of her post—especially when the best available data at the time showed no significant decline in Facebook usage among teens.

I stand by that criticism of the way in which major media outlets covered Karp's story. To Karp herself, though, I must now humbly apologize. As it turns out, my own headline—Sorry, Mashable's 13-Year-Old Correspondent Is Wrong About Facebook—was the one proven wrong.

-Will Oremus, Slate Magazine, October 30, 2013

I'm Starting To Get Turned Off To Facebook 

- The Crack Emcee, TMR, April 27, 2011