Sometimes nerds breakup. It's a fact and sometimes those nerds have developed enough fame that they have a real platform to take their grievances public. Julia Allison and Charles Forman show us how it's done.
In the era of social media where Facebook friends morph within nanoseconds into real-time lovers, then descend just as quickly into frenemy territory, splits and their attendant issues now live on the World Wide Web for all your so-called "friends" to see and engage with. News about relationship difficulties, alleged infidelity, outright cheating, divorce battles, and garden variety breakups that used to reside in the private domain between two people and maybe a handful of close friends can be spread farther and faster than a rhinovirus in winter. Aided and abetted by web-based and wireless technology, breakups, dissing your ex, and nailing a cheating partner can get downright nasty. Welcome to the new world of breakups.
A mediocre-looking guy recently approached my sister, a hesitant JDate subscriber, online. After a brief chat, the strangers decided to take things to the next level. Sex? No. Facebook? Yes. They exchanged names and allowed the inter-network stalking to begin. A day or so later, my sister burst into laughter at a Facebook message she'd received a video message from the JDate boy. Playing the piano and singing (in a surprisingly good voice, I might add) he began: Here I am writing strange girls messages via video, via song, but only because you looked like someone I'd like to talk to more.
The boy-billionaire behind Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, is dating a lovely young woman named Priscilla Chan. In order to make things go smoothly, the 2 have established a few ground rules to how this thing is going to go down.
So what does man do? He jumps on a plane and breaks the other guy’s jaw. According to The Telegraph, Stephen Henshaw and his wife, Tammy, were happily married—until Facebook got involved. Tammy reconnected with an ex, Jake, through the social networking site, and ended up cheating on her husband with the former boyfriend.
Social networking sites are on the cutting-edge of relationship trends. Facebook and StumbleUpon let you identify yourself as in an open relationship or in an open marriage.
Ah, Facebook, one of the most popular social networking tools on the web. Complete with the stalker's mini-feed to tell what your friends are up to and scores of boredom-battling applications, but 23-year old Laura Michaels sure found a new way to use it. Ten minutes after she created "I Need Sex," the group already had 35 members and proceeded to gain the membership of a rough total of 100 men. Maneater Michaels ate up half the group by sleeping with 50 of the guys with the defense that "I was satisfying my own desires."
A lot of the single people are so busy or distracted that they can’t focus on a pursuing a new relationship at the moment. Still surrounded by family, friends and possibly an overwhelming career, yes. But lonely, they definitely are not. I can’t help but wonder, if Facebook sees our single status equating to loneliness, does the rest of the world see it the same way?
According to the New York Times, soon you will be able to feast your eyes on the famous diarist's "one true love," Peter Schiff. Frank first confessed her crush when she was 11, he 13. "I'm such an idiot," she wrote on January 7, 1944. "I forgot that I haven't yet told you the story of my one true love. I can still see us walking hand in hand through our neighborhood." She died a year later.
A recent study showed that there are more single women in the US than ever before. Why is this (outside of population growth)? The reasons and rationales are numerous but two leading theories are that financial independence has made women more choosy and we, as Americans, are becoming narcissists. In addition, technology has, in many ways, sabotaged us. Facebook and its ilk aren't the solution to loneliness. The author's solution is to compromise a little, open human lines of communication, and leave Bridget Jones in the pages of her books.
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Match.com wants to get in on some of the Facebook action. They are debuting new features that will allow Facebookers to meet up and keep track of Match.com dating enthusiasts. This meeting of new media and newer media may be a little uncomfortable for the younger crowd, we'll see.
