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Pregnancy
You are looking at: Home : News & Gossip : Pregnancy

Is not telling your Facebook friends you’re pregnant ‘social suicide’?

Mum-to-be shocked by reactions to wanting to keep pregnancy news off social media sites

Tweet
Posted: 23 November 2011
by Jemelyn Yadao
"I'm craving again..time to update my status!"

Thanks to a news feed full of excited status updates and twit pics of first scans and growing bumps, knowing when your old school friends or the hottest celebs have become pregnant is unavoidable these days.

Who can blame them? News that you’re expecting is always going to be hard to contain! But journalist Jess Ratty believes there is no need to broadcast news of a pregnancy on social media site...including her own. Her friends apparently haven’t taken this lightly.

“I was shocked by the reaction to my need for cyber privacy…Am I really such a rarity in refusing to inform the world of my pregnancy on social media sites?” said Jess, from the Guardian.

“Several friends have viewed it as a kind of social suicide - online etiquette gone wrong. Some consider it downright rude…for not having access to all areas of my life, or my unborn child, for being willfully ignored in my online adventures.

“For me, sharing this personal miracle is something to be done in person with the tangible responses included - a hug, a touch - not a poke on Facebook,” Jess stated.

Jess seems to be against the trend of having scan photos as profile pictures and detailed updates of how "your uterus is doing", calling it "boring, and a bit yuck."

Sharing post-birth photos? “By all means take these meaningful and beautiful (to you) photos and place them in a cherished album to embarrass your child with on their 18thbirthday, but why share them with 200 people on Facebook?” Jess said.

What do you think? Did you update your status when you were expecting? Do you think Jess has got it all wrong?

Read more…

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So what do you think?

minigrrl
I haven't shared my pregnancy on FB and I'm 26 weeks. I agree exactly with what is said above. I have shared with people in person, who I want to tell. My scans pics are personal, as are the "delights" of my pregnancy. I intend on updating my status to "had a baby today" when baby arrives. Those who are important know anyway, and those who take offence or think I have committed social suicide? Who cares. They obviously haven't seen me for a long time anyhow. About 1 years ago
Jesseatworld
This seems such an overreaction I shared my pregnancy at 12 week on Facebook and put a photo up of my bump as it progressed. I wanted to share my experience with my friends and not have to individually tell all my home friends and university friends. obviously i told family individually though. It's a choice and if people didn't want to know they didn't have to read it! If you don't want to tell people on Facebook that's your choice but please don't look down on me for my method of sharing my pregnancy. About 1 years ago
Lorna
I think there are certain things that should be shared in a more personal way than just posting on Facebook. Many of the people that you have as 'friends' on Facebook are more like aquaintances. I don't put many status updates anyway and have very few pictures on Facebook as I see these things as private to be shared with people when I want them to know, not en-mass. About 1 years ago
DarkStar

I don't do the Facebook or Twitter thing.  I'm probably what you might call a Cyber Billy-No-Mates or maybe I'm just plain old fashioned and I'm happy to stay like that.  I'm not in any way criticising others, each to their own, but if I want my friends to know something about my pregnancy I prefer to tell them in person.  I think that no matter how 'safe' you think Facebook might be you never really know who's looking.  Besides Facebook is about the last thing I've got time for at the minute (lol) !!!!!

About 1 years ago
yummymummy92
I think the decision to post or not to post about your pregnancy is down to the individual, Personally though i'd rather keep my pregnancy between me and close friends/family About 1 years ago
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