It would be nice if Nice Pete turned his attention to one of the vexing ettiquete problems of the age, namely, how, if at all, is one supposed to respond to the news, transmitted through the kind medium of Facebook, that one of one's friends or acquaintances is newly single? On the one hand, it's not as if the person (or persons!), once having made the choice to list h/hself as in a relationship, could really persist in that listing once it ended, without basically perpetrating a dishonesty (nor would s/h likely want the listing to continue, of course), so it's not as if s/h is going out of h/h way to inform you, or anyone else, of the news—this far, there seems to be no reason to be disposed to respond differentially at all. Of course were one told in person a response would certainly be called for, but in such a case, effort has obviously been made to inform one specifically.
These "updates", though, seem to call for a response anyway; a breakup seems much more momentous, and personal, than the formation of a relationship: all the more reason not to note the formation of one in the first place, unless one is extremely optimistic.
If they are a friend, you have/will hear about the breakup through other means. At which point you say "oh, I'm sorry" before you say "so, what are you doing Friday night, then?"
Posted by: bitchphd | August 16, 2008 at 12:01 PM
The week is born free, but by Friday is in chains.
This comment would have made more sense if, as I had misremembered, your question had been "are you free Friday night". I elect to defeat reality with a postscript.
Posted by: ben wolfson | August 16, 2008 at 04:51 PM