FAME IN THE 21st CENTURY

Let’s be honest: the deification and then vilification of Boyle were both carried out by the public - a public increasingly keen on mass bullying. The internet has changed everything and that includes the nature of fame. Unfortunately, those who wish to be famous haven’t quite picked up on this: they still believe that only a couple of mean gossip columnists and intrusive photographers can harm or upset them: tomorrow’s chip wrappers.Actually, no: not any more. Even our nastiest tabloids’ most vitriolic bile is a caress compared with the stuff that exists online. As for chip wrappers: on the internet, the insults, the abuse, the obscenities are there, a mouse-click away, for eternity... Social networking sites were awash with otherwise apparently nice people making incredibly personal remarks about her appearance and less nice people making unfunny jokes about the kind of sex (brutal, humiliating) that would best suit the virgin Boyle.

The Times
June 7 2009