have any Ph.D students taken on the effects of facebook in the development of relationships since the site's inception?
I just heard a story yesterday about a guy who decided to look up this girl he knew in high school just to see what she was up to. He hadn't talked to her in three years. 12 months later, they were married.
Facebook has taken social networking to a whole new level. You can farm with people, throw pillows at them, share photos and journal entries, raise money for global causes, and live entire alternate realities from separate locations. It also seems to be THE place for important, life-altering announcements, specifically with regards to relationships. A rash of friends recently got engaged, and each one of them posted something along the lines of "she said yes!" or "I said yes!" illustrated with a number of smiley faces or heart graphics.
There's also the more "subtle" avenue of just changing your relationship status from a dropdown menu, which feels a little like ordering from a fast-food joint. This is one of the few places where you're not allowed to create your own status. You can post whatever you like for political or religious views, but you're pretty limited with relationships. Is this a preemptive strike at damage control from boy-bashing or girl-hating?
Probably smart, since I know I've been tempted to write some pretty snarky things in that box...like:
ha!
relieved
vow of celibacy
never again
sexually frustrated
Sometimes I forget that I don't have to be snarky anymore :)
my friend was offended that facebook doesn't allow you to be in a relationship with multiple people, specifically being MARRIED to multiple people. i was confused because he's not mormon.
ReplyDeletethe funny part about relationships on facebook is that when you decide to end a relationship with someone, facebook asks you to confirm: "are you sure you want to end your relationship with so-and-so?" and it's like OMG, FACEBOOK, WHY MUST YOU QUESTION ME TOO!? tears tears tears.
okay anyway, 'tis true. my current romantic interest whom i've known for the past 8 years recently popped into my life again because of facebook. o internet. i do miss the days when people interacted in person.
speaking of which, we should interact in person.
Ha! So true. I'm pretty sure Harrison and I wouldn't have crossed paths again if it weren't for Facebook... And I consider myself to be a non-addict!
ReplyDeleteThe thing I hate most about Facebook relationship statuses- no matter what you do, "Bob and Mary are no longer in a relationship," complete with broken heart icon, ALWAYS ends up published to the world. Bah.