Awkward Social Media Moments
A few years ago, I had a bunch of flowers delivered to a friend for her birthday. By that evening, I hadn’t heard a word from her and dejected, I vented to a girlfriend in an angry text “No thank you whatsoever, ungrateful cow”. I accidently sent it to the birthday girl. We’ve all done the SMS foot-in-mouth and for a solid decade, this was as bad as a technological faux pas got. That was before the age of Social Media.
For a platform that is meant to connect us, Facebook often puts us in hot water. Now, we have the capacity to offend all of our 503 online pals at once, not just the one person on the receiving end of our text. Enemies are made and friendships forever scarred, all at the click of a button.
Here are my Top Five Awkward Social Media Moments that will make you cringe (by ‘my’ I don’t mean my offences personally, only a few I’ll admit to a few and the rest I’ll palm off as friends) –
1. Being busted. Telling your aunty that you can’t come to her birthday because you’re busy at uni. Several iPhone uploads of you flailing your arms at the Lil’ Wayne concert that night blow your cover completely. Not only did you forget that your aunty is on Facebook, but the reason you added her is because she is so cool; you probably should have bought her a ticket. Telling your sister you haven’t seen her red jacket to which she replies “That’s funny, according to Facebook, you were wearing one last weekend that looked exactly the same”. Posting a legs-in-front-of-the-ocean shot is questionable at the best of times and definitely not a bright idea when you’ve called in sick for the day.
2. Misjudging your audience. This isn’t the same as being busted - you aren’t doing anything necessarily wrong, however, some things not everyone on your friend list will appreciate. Being tagged at a Hen’s bash standing next to a giant penis cake is certainly no crime and possibly everyone but your new manager will giggle at this. Allowing your mate to check you in at every one of the six pubs you visited on Saturday night could be inviting a family intervention, waiting for you when you finally stumble in the door.
3. Real-life confrontation. Bumping in to a Facebook friend and having nothing to say to them or even worse, feeling as though they are avoiding you at all costs. Mate, I saw your fungal infection on your page last Tuesday, yet you dodge me at Woolworths? Something is wrong here. When you’ve denied a Friend Request and bump in to the person and say “Sorry, I never check it”. You have changed your profile pic three times since they clicked add and they aren’t fooled for a second your decision is still ‘Pending’.
4. Clumsy keyboard. Trying to search for someone and accidently posting their name as your status. This takes a colossal lack of coordination but has been done. Writing on the wrong page, for example posting “You’re amazing! Well played!” on a losing team’s wall is a sure-fire way to lose online buddies who will never believe that it was a complete accident.
5. Seeing it on Facebook first. Changing your relationship status to ‘Single’ while your husband is at work is not an acceptable way to break up with someone. Neither is announcing the impending birth of your child online before phoning your parents, or the husband you’ve just dumped. It’s also incredibly awkward when visit said friend and can finish her sentences as she recounts her saga, as you’ve seen it unfold online. “Thank God for Facebook” you fake smile, while wondering if she has lost your phone number.
One of my own Top 5 awkward moments on Social Media. Oops!
Unfortunately, online we cannot escape the awkwardness, embarrassment and moments of downright social failure we experience in real life – now that I’ve confessed mine and a few of my friends, come out and share your most awkward social media moment.
