American Cheerleader

If you’ve been noticing a bunch of your friends on Facebook have been changing their default pictures to one of a famous person, you’ve probably wondered why. The answer is simple; it’s Doppelgänger week, of course! Doppelgänger week encourages people to change their profile pictures to a famous person they have been told they look like (or think they look like!).

“Doppelgänger” is a German word that means “the ghostly double of a living person, a sinister form of bilocation.”  The word is more frequently used in common speech when referring to a look-alike, not necessarily an evil one, just someone who resembles someone else.

It’s interesting to see how quickly a fad can take off. I only heard about Doppelgänger week this morning and I’ve already changed my profile picture, and I’ve seen about five of my friends do the same. While it’s not 100% clear where it started (as many people seem to be taking credit for the idea), it sure seems to be catching on.

According to The Daily News, “The news feed announcing Doppelgänger Week on the social networking site this week read:

“It’s Doppelgänger week on Facebook; change your profile picture to someone famous (actor, musician, athlete, etc.) you have been told you look like. After you update your profile with your twin or switched at birth photo then cut/paste this to your status.”

Carrie is my Doppleganger, who's yours? (photo cred: StupidCelebrities.com)

The act of publicly admitting the glamorous celebrity that you think you resemble seems a little narcissistic to me, but like a lot of other fads, I gave in. Personally, I go with fads in order to see for myself what all the hype is about. In the case of this silly social networking holiday, it really is all about fun and seeing who everyone thinks they look like.

Want to find out what celebrity you most resemble? You can go to the Face Double website and upload your picture and they will set you up with your closest celeb matches. This website has been around longer than Doppelgänger week itself, yet the two seem almost meant to be. There’s even a Face Double i-phone application and a Facebook application to find your look-alike. Man, people are really into this!

I’ve had people telling me that I resemble Carrie Underwood since she was singing her heart out on American Idol—which I don’t really see—but hey, I’ll definitely take it!

Who’s your celeb twin? Let us know by commenting below!

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