“OMG, can I see the ring!?”
That’s probably the first (or second, or third) thing you squeal when someone you know announces her engagement, right? Even if it’s just out of a ritualized awkwardness? (What else are you supposed to say other than “Congratulations!!” if you’re not that close?)
So it makes some sense that stand-alone engagement ring Facebook updates are a thing. But do they have to be? “Call it the context-free diamond,” Chloe Angyal quips in an excellent piece at The Cut. “Even if the stones are ethically sourced, the status update is irksome.”
Are these digital ring-bearers just seeking an easier way to spread the news? That’s what some of Angyal’s Facebook friends said: the ring pics are prompted by a mixture of convenience and pride. Are we allowed to be annoyed? She thinks so:
So is showing off the ring a good thing or a bad thing – or a bad thing we’re allowed to do, anyway? If wedding preparation is the time an adult woman is allowed to indulge, then perhaps her engagement marks the beginning of a phase of socially acceptable material-driven self-centeredness. If that’s the case, the context-free diamond is a loud, irksome way to announce that beginning.
We concur.
Image via hempuliShutterstock.
[The Cut]