Exit
eWISE
BY KATY
HALL
I recently found out my niece got engaged—
over Facebook. I talked to her after the fact
and she says she changed her status the
night it happened. I understand her excitement, but wouldn’t it have been better to
wait and make a few calls, or even emails, before telling
the world? — Left-out aunt
Q
Of course. I hope your niece called her parents
before making the status change, or she may
have trouble finding someone to pay for her
wedding. Facebook is great for learning about
the engagement of a high school ex, but it’s the
last place we want to discover meaningful news from a loved
one. Your niece owed her close friends and relatives some personal contact—text, IM, phone call and email are all better
A
ILLUSTR ATION BY JASON SCHNEIDER
HUFFINGTON
10.28.12
choices than a Facebook
announcement. The
status change could
have waited a day until
you all were in the know.
At least she did one
thing right. No one
wants to see ring closeups or read a lengthy
missive on the proposal—a quiet status
change or sweet, simple
line about the happy
news will keep friends
from wishing for a “dislike” button.