6 Rules for Happy Birthday Etiquette in the Age of Facebook
We've reached a point in history where social media has been around long enough to require some etiquette rules. Don't post about fights you're having with your spouse. No inspirational quotes. Limit pictures of your children to only the supercute ones. But birthdays have become complicated to the point where people don't know the rules anymore. Facebook has changed the whole birthday game, as it were. No longer do people get credit for remembering the day you graced humanity now they get an alert and a follow-up reminder! about it. The ease of remembering has led to confusion about how to offer the appropriate "happy birthday" greeting. To many, the day of one's birth remains something to celebrate. Birthday wishes are received, cake is eaten, perhaps gifts are given. Sure, there are some who shrug off the whole thing as a celebration for children. But those people have dark, black souls and should be shunned. For everyone else, here are the general guidelines for modern-day happy-birthday wishing, Celebrating birthdays, whether your own or those of family and friends, is a happy occasion. Let's not mar that with overuse of the Facebook wall or texting when we should call. Social media should be complementary to other kinds of interaction, not in place of it. And birthdays are a good time to pause and reflectofflineon the important relationships in your life.