Do you remember “The Balloon Boy”?Our story begins a few weeks ago in a tiny stream, when the Heene family reported their son missing. Mom and Pop built an experimental balloon and feared their son hopped into it and floated away while they weren’t looking. Also, 37 people were killed in a series of bomb attacks in Pakistan.Anyway, this balloon: It was silver and shiny, and a boy was in it. Word was spreading, and the stream began to flow into a much larger creek. Top pundits on the Facebook News Network were weighing in:Natalie “got her hair done,” Daryl “wondered if he should throw it all away,” and Pat gave us a “haha” as a chunk of debris fell from the balloon. Was it the boy? Was disaster at hand? So this balloon: It was silver and shiny, and helicopters were chasing it. Top pundits on CNN were weighing in. They even gave us some links to post on the Facebook News Network so we could follow the action live. We were in sync, and Balloon Boy had lifted us all. But alas, as gravity returned our metallic vessel to the Earth, we found it empty. Where was the Balloon Boy? Hiding in the attic, marionette in hand! How healthy and boring. “That little [expletive]!” Facebook News Correspondent Valyne Gates proclaimed. In other news, President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize.But this balloon: It was silver and shiny, and it was grounded. Further, the sheriff ruled it a hoax! An early Halloween hooey borne by a pair of pub-starved parents who, coincidentally, had appeared on an episode of “Wife Swap,” the self-explanatory “reality” show and a triumphant thread in the moral fabric of our society.The ride stops there, but our story doesn’t. The creek had merged into a much larger river – a roaring tributary filled with silt, wood and embarrassed media eager to crucify the culprits. Wolf Blitzer served justice by outing the family on camera. Other publications did their part, too, giving us background on the family through interviews and psychoanalysis.Pundits at places like the New York Times were weighing in. Op-Ed columnist Frank Rich pointed out the valuable lessons to learn about society from Balloon Boy and its coverage. A good final word. I almost forgot this whole ordeal even happened. In searching archives of the Facebook News Network’s mini-feed, it’s tough to find exactly when the story began – too many new updates to backtrack and fight the flow. I don’t know who’s reporting to whom these days. But the “when” isn’t really the point.Sure, the parents lied, but that’s not really the point, either. In a twisted symbiosis, they got their 15 minutes, and we got our distraction from what we’ve deemed less important anyway. By writing this, I suppose I am equally complicit in this phenomenon, only chicken scratching for the consolation of self-awareness.Our river of a story has slowed to a crawl now – emptied into the ocean, salty and opaque, where it will once again ascend like Balloon Boy into the clouds, moved in another form, only to rain down on our unsuspecting, disappointed heads.I guess that’s OK. As long as it’s shiny. Jack Johnson is a 23-year-old mass communication junior from Fort Worth, Texas. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_jjohnson.– – – -Contact Jack Johnson at [email protected]