Helen Dauka

Much has been said about Facebook stalking. It’s a guilty pleasure for some, a ritual for others. A girl can say to another girl that they were creeping on her pictures and it can be a totally fine thing, almost like a bonding experience. Because there’s a good chance the other girl did the same thing.

Switch the tables and imagine a girl telling a guy that she had been creeping on his pictures.

SHE’S CRAZY.

I had always thought it was just the type of thing to do on the down-low and not make a fuss over. But I now want to come to the defense of Facebook creeping/stalking.

I recently met a guy and exchanged numbers. I didn’t know too much about him, just that he was nice and nice-looking. I knew his first and last name, though. That’s all you need to run a full Facebook background check.

At first, I was going to resist Facebook stalking because it kind of takes the fun out of getting to know someone. It’s terribly nervewracking, but also exciting to be waiting on the other end of the phone to find out whether your text came across as funny or lame.

Eventually, I caved. I was just going to take a peek. I didn’t find out anything too revealing. Tons of pictures of his dogs though.

Facebook stalking can be irrelevant, like in this situation, but then I think about the other times I’ve FB stalked and it actually has been beneficial. Seeing that they’re in a relationship is good information to know. Or that they post trashy pictures.

Or statuses with terrible grammar. Whatever. Sometimes you don’t pick up on these things from a first impression.

Let’s say I didn’t Facebook stalk this kid, even though I had the option. It ends up he has a girlfriend and isn’t hiding it on Facebook. Wouldn’t I seem stupid for not just checking instead of trying to keep some mystery in my life?

It would be like not studying for a test even though the teacher gave you all the answers.

Even to a less extreme version, is there really something so wrong with scoping out the situation? What’s wrong with trying to find out if there’s something glaringly wrong with the person (just wrong for you, everyone is right for someone!).

Let’s save ourselves some time. I don’t mind if you turn the tables on me either. Get your creep on. 😉

Yours Truly,
GAC