Eavesdropping Through Facebook

The other day, I stumbled upon something … uncomfortable.

I was on Facebook, and was reading a comment from one of “my” friends asking if something she was responding to was a joke or not.

I’m always up for a good joke, so I followed her post back to her friend’s wall — and followed up the string of comments to get to the start of the joke.

Here is where it got uncomfortable…

 

The actual initial post was from a woman who was very upset with her husband for spending so much time on Facebook… that the only way to talk to him is to post, publicly, her dissatisfaction with their marriage… hoping that he will read it… and respond… since they no longer speak to each other in person.

A number of her caring friends chime in, giving her support… followed by her husband’s heated and degrading response… followed by the wife’s hurt and debasing response back… followed by more friends trying to calm down the verbal domestic feud that was playing out in front of their eyes.  This went on and on — getting more and more intense and insulting with each post.

Again, I have no idea who these people are.  I just clicked onto a post MY friend had left, which suggested that there was a joke being told… or played on someone.

And I started wondering if this couple was actually playing a joke on their friends, as my friend suspected.

Just a couple of days prior to this post, I had read an article on another one of my social online networks.  It outlined how to break up with someone — and no, it wasn’t full of hate and anger.

Basically, it listed a bunch of things to do and not to do — all focusing on treating the other person with respect — no matter who and why you’re breaking up.

I began to wonder if the two events were connected, somehow.

Even though I didn’t know this couple, we had our mutual friend… and — most probably — are on the same social online networks…

So, I began to wonder if they ran into the same article as I did — because they were managing to do everything the article had said NOT to do…and doing it in such a public manner.

• They listed each other’s character flaws.  [Don’t do that.]
• They were talking about breaking up in the heat of a fight.  [Don’t do that.]
• They were being insulting, condescending, and belittling.  [Don’t do that.]
• They blamed the other and deflected responsibility from themselves.  [Don’t do that.]
• They splattered the details of their breakup all over the Internet (well, on Facebook).  [Don’t do that.]
• They were forcing their (Facebook) friends to choose sides, as it were.  [Don’t do that.]

No… No…No…

The more I thought about it the more I thought my friend was right… This had to be a joke.

Too much of a coincidence.  This had to be a joke.

The next time I got together with my friend, I asked about this couple on Facebook.  She’s not sure but she really thinks it’s all a joke, because this couple is always playing jokes on each other… and it seems that this joke has expanded out to their friends.  Plus, their profile pictures haven’t changed—which was the two of them in a loving embrace.  Both his and her profile pictures were the same… and united in that way.

Yeah… sounds like a joke was being played…

A couple of days later, I got curious and tried to find the link back to that post, but it has disappeared…

Yeah… sounds like a joke had been played…

It serves me right for eavesdropping through Facebook…

.