We as a society like to put label on things. Especially when it comes to relationships, we like telling people this person is my boyfriend or that person is my girlfriend, so others know that they are taken.So, labels are good in the sense that they warn others not to flirt or mess around with a certain person.
Continuing with this idea, there are some people that believe labels show commitment. So they become upset if the person they are with doesn’t change their relationship status on Facebook.
Putting that you’re in a relationship with someone on Facebook, to some, shows the ultimate commitment.
Freshman government and politics major Charmaine Wilson-Jones thinks that putting you’re in a relationship on Facebook is important because it lets people know that you are off limits and if you don’t, it seems like you’re hiding the relationship.
According to the Stay Teen website, there are five things one must do before becoming “Facebook official” and they are: tell your friends, make sure your bf/g is on the same page, get over the fear of doing it first, and lastly, consider your exes and think about how you handle break-ups. So there seems to be a process you have to go through before declaring your relationship on Facebook.
Sophomore engineering major Robel Andemiachel disagrees with Stay Teen. He doesn’t believe you have to follow all those steps to make your relationship Facebook official. In general he thinks labels just cause trouble.
He is right in a way because labels can also be negative.
Sometimes a person can become known only for what they are labeled as, for example being John’s girlfriend or wife, and they begin to lose a part of their identity and become only what they are labeled as.
Psychology has a term for this and it is called the self –fulfilling prophecy. It is described as a prophecy or belief declared as a truth when in reality it is false and it can influence people so that their actions eventually fulfill the once false belief.
Labels can also only ruin reputations and severely affect students. In college some girls are labeled as sluts and skanks and guys can be labeled as players and douchebags. Once these labels become associated with a person they usually stick with them for a long time or until they move to a new place. These labels can cause people to miss out on friendships and relationships and can make people depressed or even suicidal.
While labels help us categorize things, they also cause harm and give us the opportunity to make wrong assumption about others.