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I’ve noticed that there are certain posts on Facebook that seem to get the most likes. Posts such as “X and Y are in a relationship” and “Buying a house” and “Having a Baby” and “Getting Married.”  It’s great that so many people are hitting major life milestones and that their friends and family want to be so supportive. I think about the day when I might start hitting some of those milestones myself. I’m not sure if Facebook will be around that far into the future. Maybe by the time I’m ready to start going out to dinner and a movie with a guy, we’ll all be robots and will be able to watch movies on a TV implanted in our tummies. Maybe sex will be something you do telekinetically and food will be fed to us intravenously through tubes we wear on our bodies at all times. So dinner and a movie will consist of staying at our homes, alone, staring at our navels.

Not trying to sound cynical here. I like to think that when I do start dating, it will be with someone I really care about and want to spend time with. Or at least enjoy interacting with telekinetically. And it will be when the time is right and not just because I feel like it’s something I need to do in order to hit all the items on my bucket list.



What bothers me the most is that, half the time, it seems as if we just mindlessly “like” things out of a sense of obligation. Cos’ it’s what people do in civilized Facebook society. There are those friends of ours who have been dating for a couple of years and they decide to tie the knot and we’re genuinely happy for them. But there are also those friends who just spent New Year’s Eve getting trashed with a complete stranger and then updated their status as “In a Relationship” the next day. Or the person who has just had their twelfth baby, and they seemed like they already had their hands full with three. Or the couple who announce they’re getting engaged, and you know for a fact that the girl has been cheating on the guy off and on for a couple of years because of things you’ve witnessed yourself while out on the town, or from coy messages that she’s posted online. Or someone who's decided to quit their day job and become a hooker (though of course they have another way of stating this, like "Going out to dinner tonight with a client $$$!") 

And we know who these people are because this is Facebook, not rocket science. You don’t need Sherlock Holmes telling you how to read a clue, in his puffed up British accent.


I’m certainly not saying we should ignore these people who clearly need our support more than most. Cos’ despite what their Facebook statuses seem to suggest, they’re probably dealing with a lot of shit right now. If not from all the anxiety over what they’re going to do with a twelfth baby, then from their own close friends and family who probably feel the constant need to interject and give them a piece of their minds.

I’m just saying that, maybe, instead of just mindlessly liking these statuses, like a herd of sheep, maybe add a little comment such as, “Wow! Twelfth baby, huh? I feel for you! But I know you can do this.” Or, “Glad you had fun last night. Here’s to hoping this relationship lasts!” Or, “In a relationship since March 2009, huh? I feel this status update should include the disclaimer ‘excluding February 2010, and November 2011 and October 2012 and August 2013.’ Other than that, I like this post!”

With passive aggressive quips like this, we are able to remain supportive while not reverting to shallow, meaningless half-hearted positive acknowledgement of people’s major milestones just because they fit some worn out cliché of what it means to live a happy life.