It’s not a fact unless it’s Facebook Official

The following article was run in the Jan. 31, 2013 issue of The Whitetopper, written by staff writer Victor Trussell.

We live in a world now where acronyms are as commonplace as our inability to communicate sans cellular phones. There is an abbreviation for almost everything and anything. I challenge you to converse with someone via instant message without the use of “LOL” or “TTYL”. There are even a few (unfortunate) people who seem to think that internet acronyms are okay to say aloud in everyday conversation. I think we all know at least one person who daringly says “LOL” as if it is conventional for spoken communication.  Let’s be honest: the party-rocking duo, LMFAO, is a clear indication that the acronym is indeed, in.

One of the most prevalent acronyms in American culture right now is probably the sanctity that is Facebook Official (F.B.O.).  Being able to change your relationship status is a popular feature on Facebook. Actually, it is so popular that many people will not believe a relationship’s legitimacy unless it has been established on the website first. After all, Facebook has become the social newspaper. Instead of the ability to read about the economic crisis that is taking a huge sledgehammer to our particular generation, many of us can catch up on ‘who-said-what-about-who-‘ on Facebook instead.

I am even guilty of the F.B.O. phenomenon. I’ll be the first one to publicly confess that I have logged on to Facebook to change my own relationship status only minutes after the actual establishment of the relationship. Is this a clear sign of the direction that our society is taking? Facebook has become such a staple in the lives of people our age. It is probably one of our most routine addictions. I can’t tell you how many times I have opened my web browser and unconsciously logged into Facebook.

If relationships are illegitimate because they cannot be pinpointed on Facebook, what else could this mean for our future? Many have joked, saying that if someone isn’t their friend on Facebook, then they probably aren’t their friend in reality. People who lack Facebook profiles might even fade into oblivion when it comes to the world of the Internet. This might be why I personally find it difficult to delete my own account. Facebook has become a necessity for social news and updates for two primary reasons: people do not know how to hold conversations in person anymore, and people are now so accustomed to being able to see other people’s business online that reversing that lifestyle is practically impossible. My best advice for anyone who does not wish to face the addiction that is Facebook is to simply not get one. Deleting one is more difficult than you might think.

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