FutureFive New Zealand - Consumer technology news & reviews from the future
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Mon, 1st Aug 2011
FYI, this story is more than a year old

What is Facebook etiquette, you ask? Let me explain by example. You write on somebody's wall, send them a message or comment on a photo. You wait a few days for a response, before beginning to wonder why they are ignoring you. At first you assume that they just haven't had a chance to check their Facebook account (although, these days, it is pretty rare for anyone to go more than a couple of days before logging in), but then you notice them on Facebook chat, writing on other people's walls or making status updates. So obviously, they have been on Facebook and have just straight up ignored you. How rude!Or how about the people who post unflattering or possibly inappropriate photos of you online (bad enough) and then tag you in them (even worse!) Or the couple's spats that come as a result of one person refusing to publicly list the other as their boyfriend/girlfriend on Facebook, or all the liking and commenting on statuses indicating that a couple has broken up (I've seen some pretty malicious ones!) I have even heard of couples fighting or breaking up due to one party attempting to hide their relationship from the Facebook world or engaging in "Facebook flirting”.It took a while for us to put our fingers on it, but it is clear now that Facebook etiquette is in fact a real thing! And I guess it should come as no surprise, considering the impact Facebook has had in just the seven short years it has been around. With social media sites becoming such a huge part of our lives, there is a whole new set of manners that we now have to learn and abide by. Most of us grow up learning how to behave politely and appropriately when in the company of others, but the growing trend that is "Facebook etiquette” is still a foreign concept to a lot of people, which leads to misunderstandings and Facebook fights and even (if things get really bad) Facebook unfriending!  *Gasps*Unfortunately, we can't think of any simple answer to this dilemma, other than that people should treat socialising on Facebook the same as they treat socialising in real life (be polite, don't ignore people and don't do anything shady if you are in a relationship – Facebook cheating is also a real thing now, apparently!)That being said, I think a lot of the time it is more the case that people need to be less sensitive!