Gears...Vague-booking - By Jeffrey J. Thivierge

Let me begin by stating that, as a man on the distal portion of the 30’s, I can admit that I spend a little too much time on the Facebook. (If you’re under 20 and making fun of me because I called it “the Facebook”, be aware that I do that on purpose and that I’m not above hitting a youngster with my cane.) With that said, I have a teenage daughter who I am “friends” with, as well as old Army buddies, college buddies and friends reaching back as far as kindergarten. 

Ahhh…The stories some of these people could tell about me…but I digress.

What I find interesting is that adults perpetrate the phenomenon of vague-booking more often than teenagers. Vague-booking is what happens when you decide to post a few teaser lines about some potentially awful or fantastic news, hoping to illicit some sort of comments from your friends and family.

Here’s an example:

“Could things get any worse?”

When my friend posted this, she waited two hours and then got mad because nobody commented on her own status because “nobody cared” that her life was in turmoil.

Another example:

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!!!”

Now, I was actually “live” on Facebook when that one was posted. The Patriots weren’t playing. The Red Sox weren’t playing. Hockey hadn’t even started yet. Heck, it was 10 a.m. so there were no organized sports in North America going on at the time, so I can’t imagine why anyone would feel the need to post that.

Now, my friends and family would probably feel that I go in the other direction. My status updates usually go in the other direction. I tend to go by the way of TMI (too much information). Most of my posts are either political or about my dogs. The others are gems like this (which is how I got my daughter to exit her school dance on time):

I’m not saying that everybody in the world should be as open in his or her social media as I am. What I am saying, however, is that if you’re going to put yourself out there, don’t keep people guessing. It’s annoying. Just write what you want people to know the first time around. Get to the point and get your message out there. People will appreciate it.

But who am I to talk? I don’t really like people. I hide behind a keyboard on social media in what seems to be the “new” reality.