With the holidays upon us there has definitely been a recent upsurge of engagements. My Facebook newsfeed has been plastered with many newly engaged couples changing their relationship status, and posting shots of their brand new bling to their Timeline.
I recently read an article that got me thinking about the whole conundrum of whether or not to post a picture of your engagement ring to Facebook. The article itself was written in a really snarky and rude manner damning the women who choose to snap a picture of their engagement ring up-close and then send off to their mobile uploads. The writer, who is not-engaged but in a happy relationship which she felt the need to stress (over compensation, much?), got a lot of backlash in her comments section, and for the sake of preventing an internet war of words between said site and Weddingbee I think that it’s best that I leave the source of the article anonymous.
In essence, the article voices the view that it is cheesy, materialistic and alarming to post pictures of your new shiny bling to your Facebook. One of her points made sense. For instance, yes, you’re not engaged to your hand so why not snap a picture of you and your fiancé together, instead of a close-up of your ring? (In my opinion, why not a shot of both?) However, she also said some things that I found to be a little ridiculous, along the lines of, “no one wants to see your sausage fingers up-close.”
I love seeing people I knew at different points in my life get engaged thanks to Facebook. It’s always kind of fun to see that XYZ-friend that I played on the swings with is now set to become a married woman. And, like most women, I love seeing diamond rings. I really don’t mind the ring shots people post to their newsfeed. In the exciting moment, I don’t think posting the ring comes from a place of materialism. The symbol of an engagement ring, and the act of showing it off to everyone, has become a right of passage engraved into our society. How many times after your engagement did someone swat at your hand and shout, “Let me see the ring!”?
When I got engaged I was still Smartphone-less (yes, I’m a Grandma. I also still refuse to switch to an e-reader) so there was no ring shot uploaded when it happened. I posted a pic of the ring later on within our engagement album. Only one and hey, why not? I don’t see why posting it to Facebook, a personal choice none-the-less, should concern anyone. If we aren’t close anymore and you could care less then go ahead and de-friend me. Mr. P spent a long time researching and picking out the ring. It’s certainly not the most important part of our engagement, but it IS a part of it, so why not snap a shot and include it as part of the other thousands of minute details we all post about each day? Why do I need to censor myself?
In our evolving culture we definitely share more parts of our life then ever before. The article in itself made it seem like a crime to post a photo of something that is going to be (most likely) one of your most prized possessions. Whether it’s 2 carats or ¼ carat, a sapphire instead of a diamond, a simple band, or a piece of twine is not the point. The whole point in posting the image is the excitement, bliss, and joy you feel the need to share in that moment (or day or week after).
Where do you stand on posting e-ring pictures to Facebook or other social networking sites? Did you post a photo of your ring for all your “friends” to see?
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