If you openly post photos of you and your man and update your relationship status on Facebook, you are likely not too overprotective of your exploits in love. However, before you made your relationship public, you probably didn’t realize that your friends, and even some acquaintances from back in the day, would be butting into your love life. A few things to consider when unleashing your new relationship on a social network. Will you post photos of you and your new man? Of course. Will you allow your friends to comment on said photos? Most likely. Will you change your status from “single” to “in a relationship?” Naturally, why not? Are you ready for the onslaught to your “wall” and inbox once you declare that you’re seeing someone? My girl Shelley (her name has been changed) recently entered into a new relationship with a wonderful man. While the word has been getting out that Shelley and her new beau are now officially off the market, they (somewhat unknowingly) decided to do the Facebook equivalent of sending a press release when they changed their relationship statuses from “single” to “in a relationship.” Soon, the “we’re so happy for you” messages began pouring in. “All these people started contacting me to say congratulations,” Shelley said. “It just became very public very quickly.” “Let’s face it,” another friend, Nicole (her name has been changed) told me. “Your close friends are not your only friends on Facebook. I don’t like being made a spectacle of.” Nicole chose to change her relationship status to private because of the way status updates affected her last breakup. “I thought we were on a break. I found out we were actually
broken up from someone else who had seen my ex’s relationship status changed to ‘single,'” she explained. “Too many random people knew when we broke up and I didn’t like the feeling of people nosing around and commenting on my relationship, even if the support was positive.” I’ve had two relationships since joining Facebook, but never felt the need to change my status from “single.” It’s not that I had anything to hide. I just always felt like the people I wanted to know that I had a boyfriend, already knew about it. Still, we all have friends that like to fly their relationship flag high. Changing their statuses to “in a relationship,” is a privilege for them. For others, it’s a territorial thing. You and your lover change your statuses because you want everyone to know “we’re taken, so back off.” What’s your take on the online relationship status? Does it affect your status in real life? Do you think it infringes on your privacy or is it an expression of your love?
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