For many years now I’ve held a pet peeve, primarily with Facebook although it does pop up on other social networks from time to time.  So, imagine my sheer joy at discovering that I’m not alone.  I’m actually in the majority, maybe the masses.  There’s even a recognised word for the thing that makes my blood boil ……. ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to “vaguebooking”.

Vague-whatting I hear you ask?  Allow me to explain.

You log in to your Facebook account to see what’s being going on since you last stopped by, perhaps you have a picture of your cat to upload or you’re checking in to a swanky restaurant for the evening, and then you see it.  The status update along the lines of –

“That’s it.  Never again”.

This my dear readers is known as vaguebooking.  Those irritating status updates which inevitably prompt concerned comments such as “hugs”, “DM me bab” and my favourite – “U OK hon?”.   Always, without fail accompanied by an emoji or three.

Why do social media users feel the need to post such inane drivel?  I appreciate that we’re all different but surely, if something affects you emotionally to such a degree that you feel the need to partake in vaguebooking, you need to get off social media, pick up the phone and talk to a real friend.  Better still, do it in person, over a coffee or glass of wine with real – not virtual – hugs/rants/tears/joy.

If you’re in a bad place, Facebook can have a tendency to skew reality:  it can appear that all your Facebook friends are having the time of their lives; glamourous holiday photos, check-ins at luxury hotels or restaurants and the occasional celebrity encounter.  It’s understandable that being force fed this false reality when you’re not feeling tickety-boo can drive you to post a cry for help, being deliberately obtuse in the small hope that some of your friends will put their wonderful life on hold and find 10 seconds of their time to post an equally cryptic comment back to you.

Really, unless you’re in the midst of teenage angst please stop this thing known as vaguebooking now.  You’re not doing yourself any favours and I’m 100% sure that your real friends would much rather you call them for a chat to offload your woes than read about your hard time on a social networking site.