Thursday, May 05, 2011

Now Trending

I've noticed a recent trend on Facebook. It's a trend that I find slightly annoying. And it's entirely possible that I'm the only one it annoys because I think I'm the only one who hasn't jumped on the bandwagon.

The trend to which I refer is that of copying and pasting status updates. If you're on Facebook, I'm sure you know the ones I'm talking about. They're usually about a paragraph long talking about one cause or another or one political stand or the other or how proud you are of a certain member of your family this particular week. The identifying characteristic seems to be the final phrase, "Copy and post if you agree."

Like most things in my life that bother me, I'm not sure why this bothers me as much as it does. I just find it irritating. I find them to be like forwarded e-mails. Not the forwards with the cute little jokes. The ones that have an adorable anecdote about how a cat and a monkey have become unlikely friends and if you don't forward the story on to 832 people then you obviously don't love Jesus.

Look, if I agree with something you've decided to post on Facebook, isn't it enough for me to click the "like" button? Isn't that what it's there for? Why should I copy and re-post on my status just to blow up someone else's newsfeed?

But from my point of view, why should I even bother "liking" something that isn't original to you? You didn't come up with what was written. All you did was copy it from another friend's status update, and then you re-posted it as your own. If you want to post a quick blurb about how much you love your mother, why can't that suffice?

In my opinion, that's all a status update should be. It's a short, quick posting about what you're thinking at that time. Long updates can be tiresome. Especially for guys like me without smart phones who only check the newsfeeds at the end of the day.

And about the copying thing... I admit that I will occasionaly post a quote from a movie or TV show, or even a song lyric. And no, I don't give credit unless asked or if someone tries to attribute it to me by claiming that I'm so funny.

But when it comes to your causes or your feelings about having the best sister ever, just come right out and say it. Is it really that hard?

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