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Zuckerberg named ‘Person of the Year’

Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has been named Time magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’.

Zuckerberg was honoured for “connecting more than half a billion people and mapping the social relations among them; for creating a new system of exchanging information; and for changing how we all live our lives”.

Commenting on the accolade on his facebook page, Zuckerberg said: “Being named as Time Person of the Year is a real honour and recognition of how our little team is building something that hundreds of millions of people want to use to make the world more open and connected. I'm happy to be a part of that.”

The 26 year old is the youngest person to be honoured since aviator Charles Lindbergh in 1927.

Editor Richard Stengel expanded on the significance of Facebook and Zuckerberg in Time’s ‘person of the year’ issue.

He said: “The way we connect with one another and with the institutions in our lives is evolving. There is an erosion of trust in authority, a decentralising of power and at the same time, perhaps, a greater faith in one another.

“Our sense of identity is more variable, while our sense of privacy is expanding. What was once considered intimate is now shared among millions with a keystroke. More than anyone else on the world stage, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is at the center of these changes.”

Lynsey Barber, London