About people who check into hospitals on Facebook?

[MintyChapstick]

Does anyone else think this is the most attention seeking thing ever? I see it a lot statuses saying things like 'ouch' and a tag to th A and E department of our local hospital? Cue lots of 'u OK Hun?' type messages, sometimes they respond, sometimes they don't. I've got one on my feed this morning, 'In admissions, nil by mouth' with a tag to the local hospital. Lots of comments asking what's wrong, no response but she's managed to share and like lots of other things since she's been admitted... Never mind though, she's got the attention she so desperately seems to crave

I know people are going to say that they can use Facebook as they please, but surely as well attention seeking sharing stuff like that will cause worry to family and friends who can see it and won't know what's wrong?

[AdultingIsNotWhatIExpected]

I'm not taking it personally I'm genuinely wanting to know what people think one should do when waiting all day in hospital?

[magicboy79]

Yes this annoys me as half the time they don't say why they are checked in or what's wrong! Really pointless!

[AnecdotalEvidence]

Surferjet why would you be friends with people you find so vulgar?
We don't ALL think we are minor celebrities - I restrict my friends list to people I genuinely like and I would want to know if any of them were in hospital.

[Elephants25]

I've done this, but I've always said why... I don't know why you care that much, just ignore the posts (if you feel this way, don't have them as a friend, they're obviously not one!)

[HeffalumpsnWoozles]

I've had three people that recently tagged themselves at hospital & all went in for very minor reasons. One was a consult, another to see the dietician & the third was to collect a neighbour!

A fourth tagged themselves at their GP surgery with the 'pained' tag...no explanation why so of course the OMG are you ok shite started. She'd gone to get a repeat prescription for more painkillers, I need much less drama loving attention seeking FB friends!

[CuppaSarah]

Always depends on the reason. A scared person reaching out for support, fine. Someone letting people know en masse, so they can focus, fine. Regular treatments and ongoing conditions, fine, it's obviously part of your life. Heck even someone who is waiting a long time and is just bored doesnt irritate me.

It's the cryptic nonsense ones I hate. You either want to talk about it or you don't, don't go making a performance of it.

[SpaceUnicorn]

People are losing sight of what this thread was originally about. It is about people finding cryptic FB check ins at hospitals highly irritating when there is no clue as to what is actually wrong. Particularly when they spark off hundreds of 'what's up hun?' type questions, which then go unreplied

Yes, it seems to have bizarrely ended up as a thread in which people are confusing the attention-seeking hospital vague-booking identified in the OP with actually providing updates/information

[DownWithThisSortaThing]

It is about people finding cryptic FB check ins at hospitals highly irritating when there is no clue as to what is actually wrong. Particularly when they spark off hundreds of 'what's up hun?' type questions, which then go unreplied.

This is what I mean. If someone is posting updates about what's going on with them or their DC and getting support/advice/encouragement from their friends and family it really doesn't bother me at all. I know someone who's DD has ongoing health problems and lots of people care and want to know how she's getting on. The illness is no secret and nice to know if the latest hospital visit has gone well, or if it's gone not so well people like to reach out to her to give a bit of moral support.

It's the ones that post a dramatic status, get all the replies of 'you ok hun' then ignore it or don't go into further detail so basically it's a pointless exercise. No one knows what's wrong, just everyone knows that they're in hospital. Everyone who cared enough to comment is now worried with no idea if it's life threatening or a broken toe. If you don't want people to know what's wrong then why check in in the first place? You're not giving anyone any information other than you're 'in hospital' so I don't see what use it is to update people - you could just be at a routine appointment or you could be poorly enough to be there for weeks. The check in doesn't really tell anyone anything.

[Hobtuse]

Ugh I think it's hideous! Up there with the
'I just can't take this shit in my life anymore '
Followed by any mixture of: , what's up Hun??, message me, OMG u ok??
Then hours later the reply finally comes:
'Kettle has only gon an broken agen '

Just fuck off

[SoupDragon]

I think that this kind of thing is only ever a problem for people who have too many "friends" on Facebook who aren't actually friends at all.

[WelleWell]

I did it once.
But it was Christmas Day, so not a normal situation. Is that acceptable?

[NellWilsonsWhiteHair]

Not RTFT.

I have done this, twice. DS has been to A&E over his asthma four times. I didn't vaguebook it, but I bloody well did want sympathy from whichever friends chanced to be up at stupid o'clock. I am a single parent, and he is an only child, so actually getting some acknowledgement and having someone else give a fuck was wonderfully supportive when I was scared and alone and tired and caring for a child who had gone downhill frighteningly fast and the taxi driver had gone to the wrong address and and and...

I don't care if it's classless or tasteless or offends some people's ideas about how Facebook ought to be used. And I am always happy to offer sympathy to anyone else on Facebook (you know, my friends) who seems to need it.

[SpaceUnicorn]

I did it once.
But it was Christmas Day, so not a normal situation. Is that acceptable?
Do you mean that you posted a hospital check-in but without any other information? Out of curiosity, can I ask why? Were you after a particular response, or was there a reason why you wanted people on Facebook to know that you were at the hospital but without any details as to whether you were ok or not?

[UpsidedownDog]

Meh. The only people I'd let know is my DH, DC and my 4 closest friends. I definitely wouldn't put anything on FB about any hospital visit for my DH/DC/myself on there.

[NattyTile]

Don't check in every time we are in hospital just as I don't check in to every cafe/town/holiday/etc.

Do check in if we've gone in as an emergency, because as a pp said, no phone signal but much wifi, yet no ability to send emails or messages. Don't ask me why!

So either I leave my child's bedside to make phone calls - and the children's wards are locked, so you're reliant on a nurse having time to let you back in again, so whenever you do go off the ward you may be stuck waiting by the door for 15 mins or do on your return - or I Facebook.

And it's terribly terribly dull sitting in hospital.m when your child is drugged up to the eyeballs. And you know they're safe now, but if you lie down and close your eyes, you know you'll flashback to the horror of watching the paramedics attempt resus. Or of the multiple attempts to get a line into a screaming child. Or whatever it might be this time.

And I don't post those bits publicly because they are deeply private. But I do post that we are back in hospital again. I don't have the thinking power at that point to sort out a private list of people who won't need to ask why, but who will set in motion the cat feeding and the school bus cancelling and everything else on my behalf. So if you're one of my Facebook friends but not one of my used to this life friends, you might think I'm vaguebooking. Sorry if that's the case. Unfriend me if it bothers you. But otherwise, please try to understand it's just a convenient way of getting the word out.

That if I'm asking for prayers, I'd really like prayers. I don't tend to go into intimate details and I don't post the gory photos. I might post a pic you find upsetting, if my child has asked me to show everyone how brave they are. But I don't post medical info unless they've asked me to. So for the majority of readers, all you'll get is back in hospital, prayers please. Or back in hospital, home later I hope.

[AdultingIsNotWhatIExpected]

Do check in if we've gone in as an emergency, because as a pp said, no phone signal but much wifi, yet no ability to send emails or messages. Don't ask me why!

I think it's deliberately not great to prevent selfie uploading with other patients vulnerable moments in the background of the shot

[Scaredycat3000]

Vaguebooking crap and pathetic.
Using FB to keep people informed, pass the time, get the support you need is a good use of FB.

[NattyTile]

You're probably right, adulting.

[DowntonDiva]

Check in to a hospital???

This kind of nonsense is the reason I quit Facebook years ago. Whatever next.

[MintyChapstick]

When I was visiting a relative in hospital earlier this year, there was actually a sign up on the ward asking people to kindly not take selfies because it's unfair on other patients who might get snapped as well.

I was shocked and thought that no one would be so low as to selfie themselves on a hospital ward, but from reading this thread clearly not! As for the ambulance selfie im

[Jemimapuddleduk]

Ffs Minty, you really do not have a clue do you. We lived on a child's oncology ward almost solidly for 5 months, unless you have been in this situation you really would not understand it. We took hundreds of pictures and selfies with our brave baby whilst on the ward. We wanted memories of this time. Ds learnt to walk and say his first words on the ward, am I supposed to not record these key milestones? I would never have taken pictures of other children on that ward wIthout permission, but guess what when you are living on a ward you make friends with other families and that life becomes your normal and I do have pictures of my ds with his little warrior friends. You would probably be equally as shocked that that ward has a Faces of Ward X Facebook page of the children on that ward and their cancer stories. There is also a Twitter page for that oncology ward and the bone marrow unit including pictures of these incredibly brave children. Again to raise awareness of childhood cancer. The sheer ignorance of some people on this thread proves that awareness is key and needs to be better publicised.

[AdultingIsNotWhatIExpected]

Another one who has spent time pretty much living in hospital.

It was an actual significant time in our lives for my family, we have photographs of it for that reason (pre camera phones - had to actually bring in a camera and ask nurse to point and aim for us, was happy to do so). We have photographs because we made memories in an otherwise difficult time, we talk about it and we look at the photos

Nurses will happily take family shots in hospital beds, that is completely accepted and embrassed in care environments, the signs and the problems with selfies are just to make sure nobody else is in them, not the picture taking itself.

[MintyChapstick]

Taking photos and selfies on a hospital ward and then plastering them all over social media is inapropriate highly disrespectful to other patients who are at their most vulnerable and might not want their images all over the Internet,mits not fair on the staff either. Hence that sign asking patients to consider the feelings of others before doing so, but then these people are so self absorbed they don't give a shit anyway.