We live in the age of technology. Everywhere we turn there are new smart phones, computers, tablets and other coveted electronic devices that will make our daily life more mobile. The advances in technology have made it easier for us all to keep in touch with friends and family without ever having to pick up a phone, or leave our house.
Facebook has naturally become a very popular site for people to stay connected with old friends and family. With daily status updates, links and pictures, we can see what’s going on in everyone’s day to day life. It’s fast, easy, and accessible.
But, in the age of Facebook many have become lazy and apathetic. People are no longer picking up their phones to deliver important news, they just post it on their Facebook wall for everyone to see. I’m not opposed to posting news on Facebook, but I do believe that there is some news that should be announced in person or via phone, especially to family, before making it public on your Facebook account.
- Births – There’s nothing worse than logging in to your Facebook account and seeing that a family member has had their child and you had no idea that they had even gone in to labor. I know that Facebook makes it easier to deliver the news to everyone at one time, but please give family the benefit of a phone call. Heck, a text message would suffice as well.
- Deaths – No one wants to find out about the death of a family member on Facebook. Period. This is almost never okay.
- Divorces – It’s become very common for men and women to update their marital/dating status on Facebook. I hate to hear about friends and family getting divorced, but I hate it even more when I find out about it because Facebook announces that you have changed your status to single. Is nothing sacred?
- Party Invitations – Party invitations through Facebook are popular, but I find them so impersonal. I also hate that when an invitee responds the response is delivered to everyone on the guest list.
What are some Facebook announcements that you hate seeing?
Greis (pronounced Grace) is a single, 30 something, Texas girl with an iPhone addiction. She loves her hometown Houston sports teams, Astros Baseball & Texans Football! When she’s not working as an inside sales analyst for a local manufacturing company, you can usually find her on the internet, watching trashy reality television or snuggling her niece, Audrey. In her spare time she enjoys a good chick flick, reading teenage vampire books (the sparkly kind) and dreaming about what life will be like when she finally wins the lottery. You can read more from Greis on her blog, Amazing Greis.
True story: I once got a wedding invite through facebook.
I don’t care if your wedding is small…drop a card in the mail. Geez.
I hate this. HATE THIS.
Call me. If I found out a major life event on FB, I will unfriend you.
I also hate Evites. and all of the above. that is all.
Not so much events, but certain amounts of detail. There is a level of new mommy excitement that is acceptable about potty training and breastfeeding. Leaving status updates about your cracked nipples or detailed diaper descriptions is going too far with me.
I once read an update from a friend about how his wife’s breast milk tasted. And I was done. With both of them. Thank god for the “hide feed” button.
I totally agree– and I have a site that’s about pregnancy and babies!
I recently found out about a death over Facebook. He was a teammate of my fiance’s, and I knew who he was and had volunteered with him around the rugby club a couple of times. I honestly didn’t mind finding out over Facebook because otherwise, the news may not have reached us in time to make the wake (which was in another city three hours away). If it had been a close friend, yes, I would prefer to find out in a more personal way, but I appreciated being informed right away, so the fact that it was over Facebook really didn’t bother me.
Yes, I agree with this 100%. I think spreading news on Facebook is actually a great way to ensure that everyone knows, when you don’t have the luxury of time to call each and every person. I feel like we all have those friends whom we still consider to be very close friends, but we don’t speak to on a weekly basis. My childhood best friend and I can go weeks without speaking, and when her grandfather passed away, I never would have expected her to call me; after all, I never met the guy. But because she wrote about it on Facebook, I was able to send flowers to the funeral in time, even though I couldn’t make it home.
I feel the same way about most things — cousin has a baby, I’m happy to find out via Facebook because I’d rather know the same day so I can ship off the gift, versus waiting several days for them to directly tell me, or weeks for a birth announcement.
I don’t like any of this. LOL. You know what weirds me out? Is when people post minute-to-minute updates about labor. Because I need to know how dilated a girl I met once on a plane to New York’s cervix is doing.
THIS.
I AGREE AGREE AGREE. FB has made ppl LAZY AND RUDE!! I actually blogged about something similar a little while ago
http://www.livingwithpurrrpose.com/2011/11/so-out-of-frggin-loop.html
True story: my brother’s friends knew about his engagement before I did because he posted his news during office hours and since I, unlike the rest of the world, am not permanently hooked up to facebook, I didn’t find out until several hours later. Not cool. I told my brother I was OK with it this time but when they have their first baby he had better call me first before posting anything!!
My dad found out I was engaged via facebook before I had a chance to tell him myself. My phone bit the dust the night we got engaged, and since I couldn’t begin to tell you my dad’s cell phone number I couldn’t call him to tell him until the next day. We told everyone who was present not to put anything on facebook until I gave the okay, but my husband’s sister lives in Nashville and didn’t get the memo, and announced it that night for the whole world. I felt horrible!
Agreed. Although I’m sure I’ve overstepped boundaries a time or two when sharing frustration or joy in motherhood. I wasn’t very active on facebook when our youngest was born and it wasn’t around for when our oldest was – so I was saved on timing there. But I did love the ease of being able to share the news from our hospital bed that our youngest had arrived.
One of my biggest pet peeves is being invited (or FARMED) to everyone’s home-party. You sell jewelry now too? No I will not come to your tupperware party. Ugh, so annoying.
my cousin-in-law has a tendency to over-post. My mom left me an urgent voicemail about my grandma’s condition last year, and what do you know – I logged onto FB at the same time I was calling her back – and found out about her death from his FB status before my mom actually told me. Uhg. I was tempted to leave a comment telling him how rude it was to post it without knowing if everone in the family had even heard yet – but alas, i was too sad to care.
When my SIL was pregnant with her second child, my cousin’s daughter was posting about it constantly on FB. Now her dad had just left my cousin for another woman, so my brother was just trying to include her & make her feel better. But there are lines people! Pregnancy and brith announcements are usually something parents like to do themselves! She posted that my SIL was in labor while we were at dinner! I turned and asked my SIL if there was something she’d like to share with the rest of us. I wanted to smash her cell phone into a million pieces then have a little talk with her mom about what is and is not acceptable facebooking.
I HATE slacktivism. AKA “post this if you support breast cancer research.” First off, you’re not DOING anything for anyone. Second, no one doesn’t support that. I also hate finding out people died from Facebook, partly because I can never tell what happened to them.
THIS!
I hate when couples write love letters to each other via their status updates. “Baby, I love you. Hope you have a great day.” Why not tell him/her that over the phone? Or in person at home before you say goodbye.
Also, I have a friend who did an hour-by-hour countdown until her c-section was scheduled. She started around 17 hours in advance……”17 hours until baby!” “16 hours until baby!” ugh!
I hate that mushy crap! I think it’s passive aggressive. They are basically peeing on the person to mark their territory.
YES! I talk about this all the time! You’re married– turn to your left and TELL him/her. No need to involve fb, and inflict that on all of us.
I found out a cousin was pregnant over Facebook. Never got a call, text or email, the family all found out when everyone else in FB world found out.
My cousin went into labor and I found out before she even had time to call the family because her friend posted it on facebook. I had to call five people and everyone was worried because she hadn’t called anyone and she wasn’t answering her phone. Turns out she was waiting to make sure it was baby time before she alerted the family but because of the friend the surprise was ruined.
Okay – I have one for you.
I saw some idiot post that she was going to have lunch with a friend to talk about carrying her BABY! WHO THE EFF DOES THAT?!
My husband posted news of my pregnancy the day the doc confirmed it. I was pretty pissed, as I had several miscarriages and don’t like to share the news until around 15 or 16 weeks. Also, it would have been nice to call our families first.
I refuse to be one of those women who posts every damn thing about being pregnant on FB. My posts thus far have been “Craving Meat”, “Tummy Baby is a boy”, “Where’s my bacon”, “Seriously, why hasn’t anybody brought me some bacon, don’t you know I’m pregnant” and etc. I will not be posting any information about my cervix or how far I’ve dialated. You are welcome world.
I agree with most of these except for the last two.
If someone is going through a divorce, I don’t think they ‘owe’ anyone a face-to-face announcement of that. It’s bad enough to go through one, who the hell are we to say they can’t announce it via facebook once it’s done?
Party invitations — I’m all for saving paper, sorry. Facebook is helping that, and it’s handy to see who’s coming/still thinking about it at a glance (if the invitees are true to their word, anyway).
I announced my Vasectomy on Facebook does that count?
It’s annoying when people post while watching a football game to let everyone know what’s going on in the game and their reaction to it.
I know someone who does that.
Literally.
Every few minutes.
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