In those rare times when someone remembers your birthday (I say “rare” because it seems everyone leaves it to Facebook to remember these days), they usually hit you with a “happy birthday” early in the day to show you they remembered. Then, later in the day, maybe after dinner, you get a straggling birthday wish or two from someone you expected to hear from who probably should have known. Those birthday wishes always seems like someone called them and told them they’d better wish you a happy birthday. Is there a name for the point in the day when…
Sorry for the early texts… Facebook made me do it
Thanks to sites like Facebook, we no longer think about the people closest to us and make sure we remember their birthdays. Now, we just wait for Facebook to remind us of who’s birthday it is so we can all receive thoughtless birthday wishes from our 500 closest friends. I’ve always taken pride in reserving the mental space to remember the birthdays of people I really care about. As Valentine’s Day levels the playing field for those not thoughtful enough to acknowledge that special someone without having to be told, Facebook cheapens real, remembered birthday wishes by piling on…
Let your friends know Facebook is telling you to think about them on their birthday
Once again, I received another email from Facebook this week instructing me to “Let Maxwell House know you are thinking about him on his birthday today.” And once again, I made sure to get up early enough to call my friend and wish him a happy birthday before Facebook sent me their crutch. My friends are important to me, and so are their birthdays. Like people used to do with their friend’s phone numbers, I make an effort to remember my friend’s birthdays and wish them a happy birthday. But Facebook has leveled the playing field. Now, instead of…