by Tori Miranda
“Are they dating?”
“Yeah they have been for a while.”
“Oh well it’s not on Facebook!” is a reoccurring conversation I have heard at school as people browse the news feed of their Facebook pages. I have been a part of that conversation too.
When people put their relationship status on their Facebook page, they usually become the news that everyone is discussing.
Junior Alyssa Whittney says, “When I see that two people are dating on Facebook, it’s just interesting because sometimes you don’t think of those two people together. And like, I mean, you want to know what’s going on with the kids at school and who’s in a relationship and who’s not.”
But, if a person is dating and doesn’t change his relationship status to “In a Relationship” people assume that something isn’t right about the couple.
“I don’t think it really matters, but I think it depends on the people who aren’t putting it on Facebook. If that boy or that girl has a reputation where they are sneaky, then that is a reason to think there is something sketchy about it. But you don’t need to have your relationship on Facebook. It’s not like it is a rule,” junior Kirsten Lally said.
The Internet has such an effect on people. People believe that if they are in a relationship with someone it’s not real to other people unless they have their relationship status on their Facebook page. People aren’t obligated to fill out their personal information, but for some reason they do. The media makes them believe that people need to know more about them including personal things such as their relationship.
If one half of the couple does not make their relationship “Facebook official,” it causes unnecessary drama within the actual relationship. One student dealt with this dilemma. “I was dating this guy and we weren’t what you call “Facebook official” but because we weren’t, it made people think he was available. He must have liked all of the attention because he ended up cheating on me.
I’m not going to blame Facebook for the relationship failure but I mean maybe if girls knew he was dating me they would have backed off, but I guess he also could’ve not talked to them.
At the time I had a bad feeling in the back of my mind but at the same time I thought why does it have to be on the Internet. Maybe he doesn’t feel that people need to be aware of it. But I guess I should have been more cautious.”
Not advertising a relationship on Facebook does not mean that it is not real. If a couple knows how much they care for each other, then they shouldn’t feel like they have to post it on Facebook and make it aware to everyone. I would be okay with having my relationship status on Facebook, but if I didn’t I don’t think that makes my relationship “fake.” That to me just doesn’t make sense.