Inappropriate Announcements for Facebook

Facebook is a great way to communicate with friends, family, and co-workers. You can update everyone on your life and you can do it all at once in a status update. Status updates are normally a very positive feature on Facebook. However, they can get you in trouble.

I would like to discuss inappropriate Facebook announcements. If you are having a major event in life, it might be a good idea to tell your friends and family first before posting it on Facebook. Let's talk about some status updates that are better left unsaid, at least for a bit. There are simply some events that you need to tell someone in person. Don't announce it on Facebook first.

Wait, did you tell anyone else first? Did you even tell your husband? Gasp! Having another mouth to feed is not always a happy moment. Finding out about it on Facebook, well, that just makes it that much worse.

You may want to pick up the phone and start calling the important people in your life before letting the cat out of the bag on Facebook. You definitely want to let the baby's father know first.

Hmmm... that is interesting. Have you put in the official notice yet at work? Are your co-workers friends with you on your Facebook page? Better yet, is your boss? Something tells me you don't have to worry about putting that notice in now. You can look forward to leaving 2 weeks sooner than originally planned. Actually, now that I've put more thought into it, maybe that technique is not so bad after all...

Wow, you are really stupid. This is not the way to break this news to friends and loved ones. You are going to have some explaining to do and a status update that is less than a paragraph just won't do. I'll bet I can guess what information is being left out - his last name! If you haven't even figured out your new husband's last name yet, you may not want to post that announcement on Facebook yet.

You need to stop and think about how to share this "special news" with family and friends. I guarantee you, a Facebook announcement is just not going to cut it.

Oh dear! This is not how I want to find out about a loved one's death. This is all kinds of wrong and really terrible. Please pick up the phone or tell me in person if someone I love is dead. I don't even care if it is a dog or cat I really like, this is not appropriate for a status update. At least email me in private before posting this on Facebook.

This is a big pet peeve of mine. Do not break up with me online. Do not send me a message on Facebook. If you must break up with someone, call me or tell me in person. I promise I won't make a scene at a restaurant like some cheesy chick flick. Really. We can meet at the restaurant and pretend to be civilized like everyone else.

Don't wimp out on me and post something on my profile so the whole world can see. After all, I would like to have the option to tell my friends it was my decision. Now I don't even have that going for me anymore. Thanks, insensitive jerk!

Remember, privacy is a good thing! Some announcements are updates that must be delivered in person. Online announcements simply are not acceptable in some situations. In general, if the announcement is life altering in some way, keep it to yourself until all the important people in your life know.