Jacob Longley

The Happy couple’s post is when people in insecure relationships rapidly post statuses that portray them to be in an exceptionally happy relationship. This is done when the relationship is less than ideal, and a member of the relationship tries to reassure themselves of their relationship by posting statuses about how happy they are. I can relate to this very well, because I am in a long term relationship, and have seen many of these “happy couples” come and go. I have also even seen long term relationships that are essentially broken attempt to keep afloat with the use of happy couple’s posts. For example I have a friend that goes to school in North Dakota and his girlfriend who attends school in Pennsylvania has cheated on him several times sense he has left. This is no secret to him or anyone else that knows them. Of course everyone assumed that the relationship was over and grabbed a bag of popcorn to watch it all unwind on Facebook. Instead we saw post after post of how happy and in love they are. This is extremely counterintuitive when you would expect heartbroken and grievous posts after such a detrimental occurrence in their relationship. This is obviously them compensating for the shortcomings, and lack of “happiness” in their relationship. This was done not only to convince themselves that they were perfectly happy in their relationship, but also to convince others that nothing was wrong and they were happy to be together. These post occurred rapidly, were lengthy, extremely wordy, and of course annoying. If you were to compare the frequency, length, and content of these posts to other couples who are in long term stable relationships you would find that these stable couples post far less frequently, are much shorter in length, and are not painfully wordy. After all TRULY happy couples have nothing to prove to anyone including themselves.

Just like at a family dinner or business meeting there certain rules and norms to follow about what you say and how you act. Just because you are online, you must still abide by these social norms. Facebook Rules and etiquette are the social norms of acceptable posts, and actions that are appropriate while on Facebook. In the same way you would not stand up and tell the class about the infection in your big toe, Facebook is not the place to share your details or photos of such a thing. People often fail to realize that being on Facebook is a social situation where you actions reflect upon you both positively and negatively. My personal rule of thumb for Facebook is to not post or comment anything that I would not say out loud, or show in a large class room. We have all seen people who could benefit from this rule when they post rants, inappropriate photos, talk about their boss, and make racial statements. These actions can and will reflect upon you personally and could have very real consequences in the real world for example, a fight, breakup, or getting fired from your job. Not to mention that all 900 of your Facebook friends will see it, and will judge you for it. The online social world is no different in terms of social behavior and etiquette than is standing up in CAS 283 and speaking to the class.