A Matter of Likes and Death

As DC debates health care, one thing remains consistent. For many Americans, getting sick is an expensive proposition. Dealing with serious illnesses can end up costing more than individuals and their families can afford. For these patients, social media has offered a new prescription: Go viral. “For a steadily increasing number of Americans, including millions who now regularly use sites like YouCaring and GoFundMe, raising billions of dollars in charitable giving, health care has in fact become about competition … even under the Affordable Care Act, it’s become a competition for individuals, like so much else in our modern lives, in the marketplace of virality.” Luke O’Neil in Esquire: Go Viral Or Die Trying: It’s not enough to be sick — are you also interesting?

+ The Atlantic: Turning to Baby Registries to Subsidize Parental Leave.