Social Networking in the Italian Language Mi piace Facebook. I like

Social Networking in the Italian Language
Mi piace Facebook. I like Facebook.
“Gli italiani vanno matti per Facebook” (Italians are going crazy for Facebook), a
friend from Rome tells me. They certainly are. Of the 600 million users (utenti) of the
world’s most popular social networking site (sito web di reti sociali), almost 18 million
are Italians, representing 30.57 percent of their country's population and 59.15
percent of Italians online.
Chi sono gli Italiani su Facebook? (Who are the Italians on Facebook?) As in the
United States, most are young adults: 28 percent are between ages 25 and 34; 26
percent, between 18 and 25. Another 26 percent are middle-aged, between 35 and
54.
Italians vanno su Facebook (go on Facebook) to connect (connettersi) and remain in
contact (rimanere in contatto) with the people of their life (le persone della loro
vita). They create profiles (creano profili), post photographs and lists of personal
interests (pubblicare fotografie e liste di interessi personali) on their wall (la
bacheca), exchange personal and public messages (scambiare messaggi privati o
pubblici), join groups of friends (unirsi a gruppi di amici) and play games (giocare).
And, of course, they respond to Facebook prompts to comment (commenta), share
(condividi), hide (nascondi) or change their status (stato).
They also use Facebook all’ italiana (in Italian style) A Mafia boss in Calabria with the
user name “Scarface” kept in touch with his associates via Facebook—until the police
tracked his Internet address and nabbed him. Italian doctors recently reported what
may be the first case of Facebook-induced asthma. After his girlfriend decided to
"unfriend" him (rimuovere un'amicizia), a rejected suitor began wheezing whenever he
went online and saw photos of her with new male Facebook friends (amici di
Facebook).
I am always happy to “friend” (aggiungere come amico) an Italian. A lovely Romana
uploads fabulous footage of her great passion: il tango. An artist sends images of his
bold abstract paintings (dipinti astratti. Last Christmas a fan meticulously tagged
(taggare) every face in a classic Nativity painting with the name of a
contemporary. Much to my amazement, I was tagged as the Madonna.
I have clicked the ”mi piace” (I like) buttons on fan pages for Dante, Michelangelo,
Leonardo, Marcello Mastroianni, Florence, our favorite restaurant in Rome and hotels
in Florence and on the Tuscan coast.
LA BELLA LINGUA also has a group page. Inspired by my book on the world’s most
enchanting language, it celebrates Italy's people, history, food, traditions and culture.
Vorrei invitarvi a diventare amici del mio libro su Facebook! (I would like to invite you
to become friends of my book on Facebook!)
Benvenuti a tutti! (Welcome to everyone!)
Words and Expressions news feed -- notizie
upload/download -- caricare / scaricare
mutual friends -- amici in comune privacy settings -- impostazioni sulla privacy
http://becomingitalianwordbyword.typepad.com/becomingitalian/2011/01/social-networking-in-theitalian-language.html