Possibly. I mean, I know some attention whores who would pull something similar. Except that they might vague it up to make it less clear what kind of doctor it was that left an ominous message and left them - and now all of you!- in limbo for the next …let’s say 12-16 hours.
But I could also see someone fighting cancer who is venting a bit. They aren’t being vague on purpose - they are exactly as in the dark as their audience.
And I am a bit more inclined to read a message about an oncologist with more charity. their lives are already pretty damned stressed, without accusations of attention whoring.
Yeah, well when you get 10 posts a day from the same person about cats, and work, and commute times, and weather, and phone messages it gets rather monotonous.
I’m old and grumpy and not having a good day anyway.
So, it’s me.
It’s my Facebook Profile. I can post whatever I want on it. Don’t like it, unfollow or unfriend me. Easy Peasy. Problem solved. Everyone is happy?
I tend to post whatever is in my head at the moment. I’m not actually thinking about how anyone who happens to see it will react. Sometimes I post pity-party stuff, but I’ll add a smiley face, and somehow people don’t get that I’m joking, and take it all seriously, anyway. So I’ve learned to actually say the words, “I’m joking.”
Sometimes I do want attention. Other times I don’t care. I just like seeing the words on my page.
A lot of people take Facebook waaay too seriously. It’s there. It’s fun. If you’re not enjoying yourself, go do something else. FB is totally customizeable, so you can unfollow anyone whose posts you don’t want to see, that you don’t want to actually unfriend. You can remove comments on your posts that you don’t like, and you can even block people.
Sure, some people are attention whores. So what? Feed them or starve them. Or whinge about them. Whatever makes you happiest. Tis a free country, man.
Oh god, can we talk about amateur activists, some of whom I’ve known online in other areas for years now? I get that FB is a great way to espouse one’s cause, but when all you to is keep slamming that hammer people are going to stop responding. If people stop responding, you can either take the high road or whine in a separate post about how nobody “understands” WHY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT TO ME. I get that. It’s why I keep quiet and scroll right on by.
People who self-diagnose things like autism without any kind of medical intervention? Maybe you are, but no, you’re probably not. You’re just fishing for yet another thing to post about yourself.
All I can say is that the Hide button is a wonderful, wonderful thing.
As is FB Purity.fbpurity.com All sorts of wonderful filters to get rid of all the utter crap that FB thinks we’re interested in (pokes, games, marketplace, events etc,) and you can even filter out specific words and topics.
Ah, yes, like-farming. Yeesh. I’ve also had to link to Snopes articles when friends (usually people who aren’t on FB a lot, so may be unaware of the urban legends) post stuff that is so very old and incorrect. No, inputting your PIN backwards will not alert the police. No, kidnappers are not leaving diamond necklaces on your windshields and grabbing you when you reach for it.
I’ve asked friends what’s up when they vaguebook and then I get a PM detailing what’s going on. I’m okay with that.
I think VagueBooking is partly due to following meatspace (meatbook?) conversation rules. In real life it would be completely normal to have a conversation like this:
“The doctor rang today.”
“Oh, what about?”
“Well, they think the cancer might have come back, they’ve done tests. I’m guessing it will be the results.”
“Bugger, you must be feeling a bit stressed”
etc
I think some people don’t realise what is appropriate for a face to face conversation doesn’t work in written form. “The doctor rang today” is not an informative or useful FaceBook post and seems to be designed for maximum melodrama. That’s not to say that there aren’t people who are intentionally vague for the purpose of attention seeking, but I think it is sometimes done innocently.
I never do! I roll my eyes, think “attention whore” to myself and scroll, all at the same time.