The first thing on my girlfriend’s list of things to do once she got married?
Change her Facebook status.
And I don’t mean after her honeymoon. She updated her status as soon as she left the altar. She was still in her wedding dress.
It’s interesting how often — and how much — we broadcast our personal lives across the very public networks of social media.
As soon as people get engaged or break up or get married — or now, get divorced — they change their relationship status on Facebook as a way to tell the world, “Hey! Look! See what just happened!”
I get that you want to publish accurate and up-to-date information online. I’m a journalist, I can respect that. And I even get the need to broadcast to people in your network that you’re engaged or married.
But break-ups? In Facebook? On Twitter? That just seems, well, tacky.
I witnessed the awkward break-up of a couple on Twitter once. It started by one person “unfollowing” the other. And all hell broke loose.
And I’ve heard from friend who say their new significant others urged — if not outright pestered and pressured — them to change their Facebook status immediately. If not, that meant they were hiding the relationship, they didn’t really love them, they weren’t committed — and that led to an entire night of useless arguing.
There are more than 800 million active Facebook users, most of whom indicate some kind of relationship status, which can now range from single to in a domestic partnership.
And there’s even an app — the Facebook Breakup Notifier, which was released in February — that helps people keep taps on potential partners. You can choose the friends whose relationship status you’d like to track. (Like old boyfriends, recent flings, that crush you had in high school.) And when his relationship status changes to “single,” you pounce.
“You like someone. They’re in a relationship. Be the first to know when they’re out of it,” promises the app’s website.
It’s a weird world we live in. Can anyone explain it to me?
12 Comments
The simple explanation is that it is possible therefore people do it. The second is that it allows people to act they way they would if they could. Third, this is the ‘reality TV’ generation and it is just the way it is. Final thought, my grandmother was right when she said there are not very many good ones out there anymore. Now we have proof!
I’m still Facebook illiterate.
Wow! Sounds like a stalker app! Creeeeeeeeeeepy!
we’re in a society where people live their lives in varying degrees of transparency. With social media, if you post it, they will read. 😉
Hey Cat … haha, explain what to you??? … the world we live in? … or facebook? … no help from me because I have yet to master either …
… I’m not on Facebook … and have no real motivation to do so … I think it would complicate the weird world I live in …
I don’t and will not, ever, update my status on FB. Usually a never say never type of woman but in this case I make an exception.
It is very awkward to witness a breakup on FB. First you see a change in the mood of the status updates, then comes the inevitable change in status. Then, there are those who are in constant relationship turmoil. Break up, get back, repeat. No joke it’s complicated (aren’t all relationships complicated?)
I’m also just not the type to shout my new love interests or woes to the world. Even close friends don’t know what’s up until I reach a comfortable stage. I like some time to mull things over…without external judgements and feedback.
Honestly, I may be on my own on this one, but I see the heavy use of Facebook. Twitter, and all other social networking as a quick answer to people dealing with loneliness. Think about it for a second, before all of this social networking what were we spending our time doing? I would venture to guess that people were by themselves pondering how to be happy , or dealing some real life situation, etc… I know personally, I only find myself spending time on Facebook etc, when I am feeling lonely or bored and need something to do. As with everything in the cyber universe it is the only place where you can state all that your feeling and not have to take 100% ownership of it. Just my two cents..
Considering that much of our lives is “lived” via social media today, this makes sense. I always laugh when I see people sharing a lovely dinner or enjoying a concert or special occasion together, soaking up every second until the natural flow of happiness is interrupted by the need to snap and then upload and broadcast a photo to Facebook or Twitter. But I guess that’s “living” for us nowadays. Sounds like the relationship stuff is just an extension of our odd need to spin the tale of our lives for our nearest and dearest hundred or thousand online friends to share. It’s a weird way to live.
Hello Cat, if that’s what people want to post on FB that’s their business. As for me I wouldn’t do it.
People who feel the need to update their relationship status the moment it changes has
issues.
Say no to facebook.
Bah. I hate that. My brother got divorced and it showed up on FB. Gross. I think it’s fine if you want to put your relationship status on there, but does FB really need to publish it on your feed?
Reationships and singledom are always complicated.
I established a Facebook page, and made my 15-year-old daughter fb friend me, just so she would think that I was keeping an eye on her fb activities. I visit my own page about 3 times per year, and I recently found that she had no activity since July. With school going again, that is probably not the case now, but we are just not much of a fb family. Of the four of us, two have no fb pages and no interest, one has a fb page and interest only enough so as not to be a social outcast, and I basically avoid most technology and almost all gadgets.
The internet is a good place to buy a shirt, and it isn’t good for much else. Sorry Cat, I mean buy a shirt and read your blog.