Happy Doppelgänger Week

Facebook just got a lot easier on the eyes.

Over the past few days I’ve noticed many of my friends’ profile pictures are exceptionally flattering, photographed under ideal lighting and airbrushed to perfection.

At first glance, the profile picture belonging to one of my classmates appeared to be the best picture ever taken of her.

Her hair was blowing in the wind, and she was smiling seductively for the camera. The photo was obviously taken by a professional photographer. She looked like a movie star.

It didn’t take long before I realized that this girl’s profile picture was, in fact, a photo of a movie star. Happy Doppelgänger Week, IU.

Though the “week” has no specified start or end date, it is quickly attracting participants and confirming the effectiveness of Facebook’s networking element.

It all started with a man named Bob Patel who was told he resembled Tom Selleck.

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Patel mentioned that he thinks it was his mustache that triggered his friends at work to start teasing him with very original zingers like, “Hey, Tom Selleck, what are you doing?”

These aspiring comedians (who I hope never quit their day jobs) inspired Patel to start a trend called Doppelgänger Week, a Facebook event that has average Joes who think they look like Brad Pitt using photos of Brad Pitt as their profile pictures on Facebook.

Once participants have uploaded their new profile picture, they are instructed to switch their Facebook statuses to the following text: “It’s Doppelgänger week on Facebook; change your profile picture to someone famous (actor, musician, athlete, etc.) you have been told you look like. After you update your profile with your twin or switched at birth photo then cut/paste this to your status.”

I am not ashamed to declare that I have hopped on the Doppelgänger week bandwagon. Of course I was very cautious when choosing my celebrity look-alike and tried to avoid lying to myself.

Sure, every girl would love to be able to post a photo of one of the Victoria’s Secret models and call it her celebrity twin. But I’d rather make Larry David my Doppelgänger than stay awake at night praying that my Facebook friends don’t call me out on my lack of self-awareness via wall post or photo comment.

In a way, Facebook has turned everyone into a celebrity of sorts. We are constantly viewed under a microscope and have to monitor our every wall post, status update and tagged photo.

Many of us even have friends who belong with the paparazzi. You know, the friends who abuse their camera privileges to the point where you didn’t realize a photo of you existed until Facebook notifies you about the tag.

Facebook’s news feed is kind of like a more reliable version of a tabloid magazine. Our actions are reported to the people in our network, complemented by candid photos.

Perhaps Doppelgänger week actually lasts all year round. Facebook certainly managed to ensure that every user has celebrity status.


E-mail: jzaslow@indiana.edu