*The Trust*

He smiled down at her. She laughed and kissed him. ‘’Does this mean we can change our Facebook status to ‘’In a Relationship?’’ he asked.
‘’Maybe,’’ she said.
This true conversation was recently held between a friend and her boy toy after weeks of being, as our favorite internet site calls it, ‘’In an Open Relationship.’’ Ten years ago if someone mentioned Facebook, one would think to look for it under the author’s last name in the local library. Five years ago the ideal pickup line was still, ‘’’Can I have your number?’’ not ‘’Can I add you on Facebook?’’ Now however, relationships are made and broken all on ‘’Face.’’
Facebook’s home page presents you with updates on your friends. You are immediately made aware if anyone has uploaded photos, written a note, or, of course, changed their relationship status. Due to the rapid speed of internet nowadays, a certain level of trust must be put in our fellow users to tell the truth. It’s a world where a tidbit of information can be copied, pasted, and sent to hundreds in under five seconds. Hence, whatever is put up had better be accurate, or the whole world will be confused. I learned this the hard way.
Last summer, as a joke only, a good male friend and I announced on Facebook that we were ‘’In a Relationship.’’ We were curious as to what would happen, and the results more than satisfied. In less than twenty-four hours, I had received several public messages on my ‘’wall’’ and a few other private messages in my inbox. The comments varied from shock to congratulations. There was one, from my boss no less, asking who the heck the boy was. Oh how I laughed! My friend and I kept up the charade for several days by writing ridiculously sappy posts on each others’ ‘’wall.’’ We mutually ended the relationship after friends began to wander into our places of employment to beg for romantic details. I was also questioned by several church leaders; obviously things had gone too far.
For me, it was a relief to discover that my new Bolivian friends also used Facebook. I’ve been able to keep up on school events and parties through mass messages sent to all of the girls in my grade. I’ve also been able, through Facebook Chat, to improve my Spanish on some occasions, and improve my chat-speech on others. (This is not necessarily a good thing.) But that aside, do they keep the Facebook trust on the Relationship Status better than we do? I interviewed a couple classmates to find out.

Q: Would you ever change your status if your real-life status had not changed?
A1: Probably not. Are you out of your mind?
A2: No, I don’t like to lie.

Those were the words of two fairly average Cruceña school girls, aged sixteen and seventeen. Now for one of my male classmates:

Q: Would you ever change your status on Face if it hadn’t really changed?
A: Maybe. As a joke.

Q: How long do you have to be with a girl to change your status?
A: I dunno. A month?

The Facebook trust appears to be intact in Bolivia, much more so that it is in the States. Here at least, the kids I know don’t marry their ninth grade drama partner like we’re so fond of doing at home, gender preferences being forgotten.
All in all, Facebook is a great thing. It’s like a constantly updated billboard on all our lives, and for most information that’s great. We love to share. For those of us who don’t, we hide our status, then no one knows, and we’re just a little bit mysterious.