With Just One Click: Dating in a 2.0 World

Situation: 
We have all been there.  You sign onto the Facebook.com and see one picture that leads to a night of investigative research, culminating in a detailed report to your fellow stalker friends.  If you are a “Facebook stalker”, does this make you crazy? Or is it perfectly acceptable to be a virtual stalker, as long as you’re not a physical one?  We’ll start the conversation by giving our opinions on the matter. 

Facebook was the game changer!

He Says:

I want to shout out A---who has perfected the art of hidden stalking.  She is great at what she does. LOL.

Some ninjas (sorry if I offend anyone---again) have just gone too far with their Facebook stalking.  I honestly feel that some people use this site as their own personal database for performing background checks.  And there are a few things that irk the hell out of me about it. 

1.       When I put up a status on Facebook---please don’t think that is an invitation for you to text me about it.  Facebook created a “comment” button so that you can comment on the site.  My statuses are not reason for you to call me and initiate a conversation based on the information found therein.  Don’t use my status as an ice breaker.  If I wanted to have an offline conversation with you about it---I would have contacted you personally to begin with. 
2.      I have had many a ridiculous conversation with ladies about my statuses, photos, and blocking methods (hey, clearly it is deserved!).  GTFOH!  It’s just a social network.  Don’t verbally attack me because a jawn wrote on my wall and told me I’m sexy and she wants to have multiple children by me---even if it’s true. LOL.  Unfortunately I can’t control these things all the time.  My privacy settings are fairly immaculate, but sometimes things do slip through the cracks.       
3.      DO. NOT. EVER. stalk my wall, photos, etc and then come back to me talking about information that I have never shared with you personally.  I think it’s a little weird if you are only texting me about Britney Spears because you read my “25 things” list (y’all remember that?).  On one occasion, I actually had someone stalk my entire page, and then proceed to stalk the pages of several of my friends!  Then, this fool had the nerve to text me stating that AB had amazing makeup and she wanted AB to do hers.  I was frankly quite scared!  If you are going to stalk---at least be sure that you keep any information gathered to yourself; or else you run the risk of coming off as a complete nut job.  If you need some covert stalking tips---contact A for classes. LOL

K
P.S.  I want to thank God and Mark Zuckerberg for creating the best thing known to man: privacy settings!  Let all the ninjas say, “AMEN!” 

She Says:

Dear Mark Zuckerberg,
I hate you! No, really--I do! My idle time has made you a billionaire and my daily interactions with your little website, Facebook, continue to make you money.  Not only have you revolutionized social networking sites, but you have completely changed the way people communicate. In addition, you have added another element to relationship dynamics, that often times has catastrophic implications. For this, we thank you! *insert sarcasm*
Love,
A

I wonder how often Mark hears those sentiments from his users. Facebook has become a game changer in relationships.  It has given many people the opportunity to know what their boo, crush, or fav smanger is doing at all times. Ladies, have you ever called up one of your friends to have a dish session centered on the latest status or tagged picture that showed up in your news feed? You sit on the phone dissecting every aspect of it. You comb over the person’s page like you are a forensic analyst and his page is a crime scene. You find yourself clicking to see more about the chick who comments on every picture and likes every status. Then the next thing you know you are looking at all of her pictures, sharing them with your friends, and having the “I am cuter than her right?” conversation.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with looking at all of this information; it’s part of the person’s digital footprint and is fair game for exploration. If companies can use Facebook in the job hiring process, then why can't you use it in the dating process?  If people don’t want certain information shared then they should hide it, delete it, or…I don’t know--do something else with it besides post it on Facebook. LOL. I do, however, have a problem with those who are not discreet Facebook stalkers. You give the covert stalkers a bad name. Don’t ever get sloppy and talk about knowledge you acquire from Facebook research with your boo, crush, or fav smanger. If you do, it will make you look like a crazy fool.

I leave you all with this thought… Friends don’t let friends Facebook stalk recklessly, so go forth and stalk responsibly.

A