Why? What's Going On? What Happened?
If those are questions you want answers to, well, that's the point in what is considered by many to be the most annoying thing on Social Media (SM) called: Vaguebooking.
The Urban Dictionary -- a crowdsourcing online dictionary of slang words -- defines in many of its definitions of Vaguebooking as: "An intentionally vague Facebook (FB) status/message update that prompts friends to ask what's going on.”
Essentially this is an ambiguous update where there is no chance at all that anyone would, or could, possibly know to what you are referring, in order to get comments/questions and, well, attention.
Ugh. It's the worst.
Aside from my Vague-book headline for this post, here are a few other examples of Vaguebooking, followed by the typically prompted responses:
- “Wondering if it was all worth it”. What was all worth it? Are you okay?
- “I'm so angry right now” At whom? Are you okay?
- “Why only me” What's going on? Are you okay?
- “Seriously, nobody ever speak to me again!” Why? (oops, got me, I was speaking to them) Are you okay? What happened?
- “I'm so over this” Over what? Are you okay? What happened?
- “Feeling Lucky” About what? Are you okay?
- “Best. Day. Ever.” Why? What happened? Are you okay?
- “The day started off rough” Did you take a creative writing class? Was it 'a dark and stormy night' last night, as well? (Ok, so maybe not this one - but it would be a wonderfully witty retort).
As you can see, the goal of Vaguebooking is to pique your curiosity and to get you to ask a follow-up question.
Sylvan Lane of Mashable.com writes about Vaguebooking:
We all have problems and emotions, and sometimes we need to share them with our friends on social media. While there isn't anything inherently wrong with that, vaguely alluding to what's bothering you as a plea for attention — or "vaguebooking" — is an awful way of finding support, but it's a fantastic way of aggravating your friends and followers.
Yep, if you are on SM then you are probably already thinking - and making a mental list - of the people you see in your News Feed, perhaps even some of your friends, that are guilty of Vaguebooking.
Annoyingness and aggravation aside, is there anything actually wrong with Vaguebooking?
Joseph Hindy of Lifehack.org thinks there is if you want to keep your friends:
People go on Facebook and see vague-book statuses one after another. It gets old and defeats the point of social media (which is to be social). They may unfriend you, unfollow you, and if enough of their friends do it, may even seek another social network to get away from it all. Unfortunately for them, vaguebooking is on every single social network to an extent so they’ll never truly escape it. However, that won’t stop them for hating you for polluting their News Feed with what they consider to be senseless babble.
Dave Parrack of Makeuseof.com encourages you that if you see a person Vaguebooking, to please NOT join them!
If you have yet to catch the vaguebooking bug, and I sincerely hope you have resisted up to this point, then please don’t join the legion of vaguebookers muddying up their timelines with inane nonsense. Personally if I have something important to say to someone, or something serious going on in my life that’s causing me any kind of extreme emotion, I avoid Facebook. Instead, I talk to someone real, someone I know and can trust, someone who may possibly be able to impart a few words of wisdom to help make me feel better, or offer practical advice which helps.
Sounds like good advice.
So while you start contemplating & envisioning the joyful experience SM could be by removing the energy-sucking 'friends' you have that are oft-guilty of Vaguebooking, here are few memes I found on Al Gore's fabulous Interwebs for your enjoyment.
(Have examples of Vaguebooking? Let us know by posting in our comment section for this post on our Facebook page).
I'm so over this. (Over what?)
Last Update: Jan 29, 2017 1:47 pm CST
