Facebook: To greet or not to greet?

[Spot's Meow]

How interesting. I did that recently (removed my birthday) and thus didn't get as many greetings as I did in the past when my birthday came up. Those who remembered were mostly friends and family whom I usually greet anyway. There were a few who copied others just for the heck of it. But I went ahead and thanked the ones who did say happy birthday to me.

Personally, I couldn't care less if others greeted me or not, but it's the others I get conscious of greeting.

I honestly don't care much either way either, I just like doing mini social experiments using Facebook I guess.

My real answer to your original question is that it really doesn't matter that much. Maybe if there is someone close to you who like you or me took their birthday off their profile, I would try to remember the date as it means you actually went out of your way a little to think of them, but most people do have their birthday on there. They get tons of birthday wishes and are very unlikely to remember exactly who did or did not wish them a happy birthday.

 

[RoJoHen]

Am I? It's a simple question of etiquette.

I've never known anyone to get upset by someone wishing them a happy birthday. Do it or don't. Unless they're crazy, I guarantee they won't care either way.

Why won't they care either way? Most everyone I greet "happy birthday" is grateful, so they do care.

Wishing somebody a happy birthday must be a really big deal for you or something, because I just can't wrap my head around this thread.

Yes, if you wish a random acquaintance a happy birthday out of courtesy they are most likely going to respond with a thank you. They are also just behaving out of courtesy. It's not like if you wish them a happy birthday they're all of a sudden going to start reading too much into it. "I haven't talked to him in ages. Why is he wishing me a happy birthday? What does this mean? Is he in love with me? What an asshole!"

The random people will be grateful for the birthday wishes, but they also won't notice if you fail to greet them at all.

 

[Gryffindorian]

I've never known anyone to get upset by someone wishing them a happy birthday. Do it or don't. Unless they're crazy, I guarantee they won't care either way.

Why won't they care either way? Most everyone I greet "happy birthday" is grateful, so they do care.

Wishing somebody a happy birthday must be a really big deal for you or something, because I just can't wrap my head around this thread.

Yes, if you wish a random acquaintance a happy birthday out of courtesy they are most likely going to respond with a thank you. They are also just behaving out of courtesy. It's not like if you wish them a happy birthday they're all of a sudden going to start reading too much into it. "I haven't talked to him in ages. Why is he wishing me a happy birthday? What does this mean? Is he in love with me? What an asshole!"

The random people will be grateful for the birthday wishes, but they also won't notice if you fail to greet them at all.

You're damned right it's a BIG deal for me to wish friends and family "Happy Birthday." I call that common courtesy. But as you already know, I wasn't just talking about friends and family but more about lesser known acquaintances. But that's all moot at this point, as I've adopted a new policy for greeting people and managing my contact list.

 

[RoJoHen]

Meh, birthdays are generally meaningless to me and most of my friends and family. We'll say happy birthday, but if we forget, none of us really care.

 

[doubleohfive]

With 1,342 friends on FB, you'd think I wouldn't do this, but I do. Nearly every day.

One of my morning routines now is to check Facebook and see who has a birthday on a given day. (I'm usually better about this during the week than on weekends.)

Now that FB has the option built in to leave notes for birthdays in one window, I'll generally leave a brief message wishing my friends well on their birthday.

To do otherwise has never occurred to me, and as Robert Maxwell said, it's "just" a birthday. I don't see any reason not to wish someone a happy birthday, regardless of how well I may know them.

Plus, I'm lousy with remembering things like dates otherwise, so I've been grateful to have the built-in reminders, particularly for people I work with.

 

[bbailey861]

What's Facebook?

 

[Kemaiku]

Well, didn't realise this was such a big deal, all of one little sentence.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

What's Facebook?

And why, bbailey, do I suddenly feel like I'm in the commies lounge?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

What's Facebook?

What's a bbailey861?

 

[Kestra]

With 1,342 friends on FB, you'd think I wouldn't do this, but I do. Nearly every day.

One of my morning routines now is to check Facebook and see who has a birthday on a given day. (I'm usually better about this during the week than on weekends.)

Now that FB has the option built in to leave notes for birthdays in one window, I'll generally leave a brief message wishing my friends well on their birthday.

To do otherwise has never occurred to me, and as Robert Maxwell said, it's "just" a birthday. I don't see any reason not to wish someone a happy birthday, regardless of how well I may know them.

Plus, I'm lousy with remembering things like dates otherwise, so I've been grateful to have the built-in reminders, particularly for people I work with.

See, this is sweet. When I was on Facebook I actually didn't like total randoms wishing me happy birthday because it didn't seem like it had any meaning. I'm the kind of person that saves every card I get, so I like messages to have meaning. But if it's someone like 005 here, then the sentiment would be appreciated.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I indiscriminately wish people birthdays.

Special people get special birthday messages, though.

Sometimes nudes.

 

[Kemaiku]

What's Facebook?

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1...753-FaceBookface_bookmetatwilight_sparkle.png

 

[Vorta]

Yeah, I don't quite understand this Facebook fad. When it first hit the scene I thought to myself "Oh sure, this will die out in a few months". Few years later, it's still here, and I'm still confused. Nothing against anyone that has Facebook, but I have better things to do then let everyone know what I'm doing every second of the day, whilst posting pictures that I took in a school bathroom.

 

[O'Dib]

I get 50-ish greetings on fb every year, but don't read too much into it. I don't find Birthday wishes important enough so as to require reciprocity. I only wish happies to people I'm closest with. In the family or friendship sense. I could have geographically close family I dislike that still get an SMS. But mostly, depending on which side of the pond they live on, a greeting means either a phone call or a private fb message. I prefer people not cluttering my wall, so I never do it to anyone. Even after timeline started bunching greetings together. Although that did enable me to acknowledge peope with a single like instead of 50. And deleting them all a few months later is also a lot easier.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Yeah, I don't quite understand this Facebook fad. When it first hit the scene I thought to myself "Oh sure, this will die out in a few months". Few years later, it's still here, and I'm still confused. Nothing against anyone that has Facebook, but I have better things to do then let everyone know what I'm doing every second of the day, whilst posting pictures that I took in a school bathroom.

But you don't mind me standing on your lawn, I take it.

 

[Vorta]

Yeah, I don't quite understand this Facebook fad. When it first hit the scene I thought to myself "Oh sure, this will die out in a few months". Few years later, it's still here, and I'm still confused. Nothing against anyone that has Facebook, but I have better things to do then let everyone know what I'm doing every second of the day, whilst posting pictures that I took in a school bathroom.

But you don't mind me standing on your lawn, I take it.

I'm sorry, what?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Yeah, I don't quite understand this Facebook fad. When it first hit the scene I thought to myself "Oh sure, this will die out in a few months". Few years later, it's still here, and I'm still confused. Nothing against anyone that has Facebook, but I have better things to do then let everyone know what I'm doing every second of the day, whilst posting pictures that I took in a school bathroom.

But you don't mind me standing on your lawn, I take it.

I'm sorry, what?

It was a joke. You were making one of those typical "rargh I hate new things I don't understand" rants and I wondered why you didn't finish with, "and get off my lawn!"

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Nothing against anyone that has Facebook, but I have better things to do then let everyone know what I'm doing every second of the day, whilst posting pictures that I took in a school bathroom.

You obviously know very little about the reality of Facebook, as opposed to the stereotype.

 

[Lumi]

I sometimes feel a bit shy wishing people "Happy Birthday".... but I get loads of people I don't know well wishing me one every year, so I don't let it bother me too much and normally just do it.:P

 

[RoJoHen]

Yeah, I don't quite understand this Facebook fad.

Might help to stop thinking of it as a fad. I've been a Facebook member for nearly a decade.