It didn’t concern me when a few friends created blogs for their dogs. But when I started getting more Facebook friend requests from pets than I did from people, it seemed time to question the adoption of social media by the canine and kitty cat set, and the humans who care for them.
We’re living in an era where people treat their pets like they would children. Last week I was invited to a baby shower for a new “mom” with a pit bull puppy, complete with a registry gift list from a major chain pet store. This dog doesn’t have its own Facebook/Twitter/blog yet, but it probably will soon. Those doggy shower pictures will need to be shown off somewhere. I took a little survey and discovered that I am friends with a horse, a pot-bellied pig, and an alpaca on Facebook. The alpaca’s name, appropriate, is Al.
I love animals. I love them in the same way that I love children – they are so much more adorable when they are someone else’s problem. I even like looking at pictures of my friends’ animals on the aforementioned blogs. They are cute, endearing and a great distraction from whatever stress is going on in my day. I think it’s great that my friends take the time to photograph their pets and post the pictures – it shows they really care about their animals, and they are true members of the family. But when the pet is sending out the annual Christmas card message in their own voice, I start to wonder just a little bit about how my friends are doing, mental-health wise.
Another place I draw the line is when a pet’s Facebook feed shares all the mundane details of Fluffy or Spike’s day-to-day life. I do not care about the walk you took to the park, the play date you had with the bulldog down the street, or the lazy hours you spent napping in the sun. Maybe I’m just jealous. Those all sound like a pretty great way to spend the day.
I want to hear from others about whether this trend has gone too far. How many furry friends do you have on Facebook? Am I just being a grouchy old geezer? Maybe it’s time for me to get a dog .. with a blog. A tortoise who Twitters? Suddenly Fido with Facebook sounds just about boring.
Kombucha is a contributing writer for RENTCafe where you can search apartments in Austin, TX plus find entertaining articles on dealing with roommates, personal finance, and apartment living.
We’re living in an era where people treat their pets like they would children. Last week I was invited to a baby shower for a new “mom” with a pit bull puppy, complete with a registry gift list from a major chain pet store. This dog doesn’t have its own Facebook/Twitter/blog yet, but it probably will soon. Those doggy shower pictures will need to be shown off somewhere. I took a little survey and discovered that I am friends with a horse, a pot-bellied pig, and an alpaca on Facebook. The alpaca’s name, appropriate, is Al.
I love animals. I love them in the same way that I love children – they are so much more adorable when they are someone else’s problem. I even like looking at pictures of my friends’ animals on the aforementioned blogs. They are cute, endearing and a great distraction from whatever stress is going on in my day. I think it’s great that my friends take the time to photograph their pets and post the pictures – it shows they really care about their animals, and they are true members of the family. But when the pet is sending out the annual Christmas card message in their own voice, I start to wonder just a little bit about how my friends are doing, mental-health wise.
Another place I draw the line is when a pet’s Facebook feed shares all the mundane details of Fluffy or Spike’s day-to-day life. I do not care about the walk you took to the park, the play date you had with the bulldog down the street, or the lazy hours you spent napping in the sun. Maybe I’m just jealous. Those all sound like a pretty great way to spend the day.
I want to hear from others about whether this trend has gone too far. How many furry friends do you have on Facebook? Am I just being a grouchy old geezer? Maybe it’s time for me to get a dog .. with a blog. A tortoise who Twitters? Suddenly Fido with Facebook sounds just about boring.
Kombucha is a contributing writer for RENTCafe where you can search apartments in Austin, TX plus find entertaining articles on dealing with roommates, personal finance, and apartment living.