Are you “Facebook official?” With an expanding selection, including the new “In a domestic partnership” and “In a civil union” options, there are different ways to handle becoming “Facebook official.”
Some select their status with pride. A rush of excitement comes with a change in status. Couples want to notify the world that they are together with a simple series of clicks!
“It’s an easy way to get it out there that you’re officially with somebody,” notes UMD sophomore animal science major Patty Da Silva. “It makes it easier so you don’t have to tell them all yourself.”
When Facebook added the options of “In a civil union” and “In a domestic partnership” in early February, praise exploded for the site’s expansion of the relationship status selection.
“This has been a highly requested feature from users,” said Facebook’s Andrew Noyes, manager of public policy communications to The Huffington Post. “We want to provide options for people to genuinely and authentically reflect their relationships on Facebook.”
“I think it’s great that they’re making so many different options, because it is hard for people to fit into a specific box,” comments sophomore women studies and criminology and criminal justice major Brittany Clarke. “Especially in the LGBT community where two people may not be legally married, but they may consider themselves in a partnership.”
Even the shift to “Single” can be celebrated. If a girl is finally free from a troublesome relationship then the status update can be an empowering moment. But what if the change is not a welcome one?
Others hide their relationship information, or quickly delete relationship updates from the newsfeed after they occur. If a break-up ended badly leaving fresh wounds, then a flood of comments from sympathetic “friends” won’t help the healing process.
“One of my greatest virtual fears is having to alert the entire Facebook community that my heart has broken—literally,” comments Jessica Strul in Glamour’s “Smitten” blog. “Remember that red, broken heart icon that used to pop up in the feeds of newly-single users? Terrifying!”
Then there are the people who are indifferent such as Clarke. “My girlfriend has a different opinion; if we weren’t Facebook official that would not be okay. So I mostly just do it for her.” And there are the ones who view the relationship status feature as a joke, a feature not be trusted or taken seriously.
“I see most people using those options, like ‘In a civil union,’ with somebody as a joke,” reflects Da Silva.
“You take people’s Facebook relationships with a grain of salt,” states Clarke. “Most people don’t assume I am in the LGBT community and I don’t have that on my Facebook, so most people probably assume that me and a friend are Facebook official as a joke.”
Serious or silly, relationship statuses can go either way with positive as well as negative effects. Whether you love it or hate it, the feature is there, and with a growing list of options.