Definition: Facebook Official

Facebook Official, but my definition and usage, is when two people are in a relationship and they “take the next step” by changing their Facebook pages to reflect that they are in a relationship with each other. There are two different forms of Facebook Officialism, the first, milder step is where both parties simply change their status to “In A Relationship”. Of course, friends of both parties will immediately grasp onto what is going on, because obviously, two people who you know both changing their status at about the same time? Obviously a case of going Facebook Official.

the second stage of Facebook Official is when both parties change their status to reflect that they are in a relationship specifically with each other. This is done by adding the person’s name to the Facebook relationship status. Obviously, this is a much bigger step than what is described above, and is tantamount of holding hands in public or other PDAs, because you are in effect announcing your relationship to the world.

Going Facebook Official may be either a big deal or a small deal, depending on numerous factors in the relationship, such as how much Facebook contact the two parties have, how often they use Facebook, their trust in one another, the strength of the relationship and of course the openness of the relationship. (Obviously, if you are having an affair, you won’t be going Facebook Official for a while, if at all).

Finally, Facebook Official may be a big step in a relationship. Some people may choose not to go Facebook Official at all, and simply change their “Looking For” in their profile. Then there are those people who cannot wait to announce to the world that they are in a relationship, and change it prematurely. Most of the time, that will result in a rather rapid change to “It’s Complicated”.