What’s on your mind?
Jane’s Status: I’m sad 😦 Jane’s Friend A: What’s wrong? Jane’s Friend B: Hope everything is ok! Jane’s Friend C: Here if you need anything sweetie 🙂 Jane’s Friend D: 😦 Are you alright? Jane’s Friend E: What happened? Jane: I don’t want to talk about it.
How often have you seen this ridiculous dialogue? We all have at least one Facebook friend that insists on sharing how they feel then refuses to elaborate. But why? Why go out of your way to express your melancholy to the entire world only to follow up with a reply of “leave me alone”? Of course the first instinctual response to such posts is a dramatic eye-roll. But beyond this reaction I must wonder about the reason for this breed of Facebook-dwellers to make a vague declaration of feelings, opening up dialogue for others to inquire about the life problem and then shutting down. Proving your loyalty: Perhaps it is a test from the poster. At this time in their life they feel insecure about the people and friends they associate with. They want to see who cares enough to ask them why they are upset. Instead of being direct and acknowledging that he or she feels neglected, they choose to play a mind game with their Facebook friends. Lack of attention from spouse or significant other: I hate to generalize but these posts are often from Facebook friends who are in a serious long-term relationship. Their communication with that significant other could be depleting and the Facebook poster may be seeking attention from an outside source. Anybody who chooses to recognize this person’s feelings is now better than the person’s romantic partner. In turn, they come to the conclusion that it is their companion who is at fault because, “Facebook sees my true feelings, why can’t he(she)?” Obviously this is an insane train of thought, but I believe it to be shockingly real. You are friends with a lunatic: Sometimes it just boils down to the hard truth that your friend is out of their mind. A clear sign of this is multiple Facebook posts of this kind. Nothing ever makes them happy nor do they ever let it show that something in their life could be pleasurable. If you have decided that this is your friend, you are best advised to delete this friend if at all possible. Yes, you may find it tempting to keep them on just to observe their illogical, irrational Facebook posts for your amusement and I certainly get that. But the bigger the audience, the greater the show. Don’t encourage.
WHAT'S WITH PEOPLE? 