Mark Zuckerberg is by no means the “Father of the Internet” in its literal sense, but his influence on our online world likened him to an uncle who made it cooler. Ironically, the internet itself now seems to paint him in many images in the midst of its teenage transition into the metaverse. The internet and mass media don't seem to let Zuckerberg's name disappear from their headlines since his rise as the founder of "TheFacebook", and rarely portrays him in a positive light, too. But, as much as we call him an alien or a lizard, he is, without a doubt, as human as we are, with a story of his own and a personal life not entirely covered by the movie The Social Network.
Mark Zuckerberg — the co-founder, CEO, and majority shareholder of Meta Inc. — began coding at a young age, launched Facebook from his dorm room, and was sued for allegedly stealing the idea for it. We all know that by now, and even if someone doesn't, the movie will tell this story better anyway, although inaccurately, as admitted by the movie's screenwriter and also by Zuckerberg himself.
Despite Zuckerberg's immense achievements and success in big tech, he seems to remain an eager learner. Zuckerberg initially learned to program in his early childhood thanks to his father, who gifted him a book on the programming language C++. Zuckerberg was soon dubbed a "prodigy" by his programming tutor, which was later reinforced as he attended graduate-level computer science courses, with Microsoft and AOL offering him job positions that he never accepted. His passion for coding persevered, but it became only his second major at Harvard. Zuckerberg's university major was psychology, possibly inspired by his older sister who was his senior in the same major and his mother who was a practicing psychiatrist. Although Zuckerberg wasn't able to juggle schoolwork with managing Facebook at first, he later came back to finish his degree with no other apparent career need to study whatsoever.
People tend to crack jokes at his looks, the way he speaks, and his massively broadcasted official statements, rarely recognizing their target as a fellow guy who himself admits that he was "never cool". To this day, Zuckerberg strives to learn new things in his free time and prioritizes spending time with family. In 2010, he made a New Year’s resolution to learn Mandarin and later held a Q&A session in Tsinghua University, during which he answered questions in Mandarin.
Beyond Facebook, Zuckerberg has pursued other ventures and philanthropic efforts. In 2015, he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, launched the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, an organization focused on addressing pressing global challenges such as healthcare, education, and criminal justice reform.
In recent years, Zuckerberg broadened his reach — quite literally — by engaging in mixed martial arts training with UFC champions like Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski. What can't this guy do? Zuckerberg may not be a masterful fighter, an expert coder, or a fluent Mandarin speaker, but this very fact is what makes him human, and sometimes we forget that as we blame him for all the adversities we face online — a virtual world created by his imperfect hands.
As of now, Zuckerberg remains at the helm of Meta, formerly named Facebook, guiding the company through both its triumphs and its challenges. His innovative spirit, determination, and vision continue to shape the way we connect and communicate in the digital age. Whether he's leading the internet world into the future or exploring new frontiers in technology, philanthropy, and even mixed martial arts, one thing is certain: Mark Zuckerberg's impact on the world will be felt for generations to come.