Are pregnancy announcements always twee?

[Didntcomeheretofuckspiders]

I remember a friend posting a photo to announce her pregnancy a while ago and finding it a bit twee and silly. It was their work shoes and badges (they both work in public services) and then some booties and the scan photo. At the time I was very judgemental about it!

Fast forward a bit and I have my 12 week scan next week and all of a sudden I’m considering doing something similar! 😂 We’re having to move our wedding so I want to announce it as soon as possible and to as many of our friends and family as possible (really close people already know) so that we can pre-warn people and get the new date out ASAP so Facebook has become a good option. And I even think a cute picture would be nice! I was thinking of doing something with race numbers or bikes as we’re both very sporty. Have I gone mad?

But that doesn't mean if another friend who doesn't know her history or doesn't understand puts a fb announcement on that they're doing it to boast and hurt. That's my point. You make it out like that is the only reason people post. I think you need to look at your friends.

When I got pregnant there were many people who I wanted to know and who cared. I did my best to tell people who I knew might find the news hard 121 and quietly. But I also wanted to tell the friends who I don't see every day. Wanting to share news is not the same as boasting.

SleepingStandingUp My friends are lovely and are not boasting, showy, needy types. We share news together face to face as it should be. Puting personal news on the internet is public boasting. I wouldn’t want to make another person feel that thier life isn’t as good as mine. That’s what Facebook/social media does, it portrays a perfect life and makes people feel inadequate.

Do you consider sharing good news personally as personal boasting? If you aren't sharing news with excessive pride, self satisfaction, smugness etc then its just sharing news. Whatever the medium. I could boast just as well to my friends face to face as I can by SM. I don't cos I'm not a dick but its the message not the medium that counts.

And I saw pregnancy announcements when we couldn't conceive, healthy birth announcements when I grew a poorly one, first steps when mine couldn't, first words when mine can't, second pregnancy announcements now we're struggling again. I have never once felt they were boasting or felt superior to me or their only concern was making lesser mortals feel shit. Sure it happens on fb as in real life, bit those people aren't my friends and aren't on my fb list

When you share news personally, you can do so with tact and empathy if you know that it might be sensitive subject such as babies and pregnacy. On social media it always comes across as a boast. Some people are just very self obsessed which is why they like putting a status up on Facebook

I find them really self obsessed to be honest! I'm not a facebooker myself, so I don't really get the whole public boasting thing. You have probably told your close friends and family - the facebook post is there just to publicly show off to people who aren't your real friends. Hence the boasting and self obsession.

Cocoabutter8080 100% agree with you!

Honestly Teetotal perhaps its just your perspective. Plenty of people on this thread have shared news to share news not to boast but you would assume they were trying to boast and make someone else feel like shit. Quite simply people are too excited to be deliberately trying to hurt someone else. So insensitive yes, thoughtless, self absorbed, yeah. Boastful and spiteful, I just don't see it

SleepingStandingUp that’s the whole problem with boasting though! You are either completely thoughtless to others peoples feelings (so you lack empathy) or you don’t care (which is spiteful) either way boasting is bad, sorry, but it just is.

Yes they are

Very cringe

publicly show off to people who aren't your real friends I guess it's how to define real friends. I have lots of real friends I don't see outside of a shared interest because we all live so far apart, busy lives etc. I would find it incredibly self absorbed to call them up personally and tell them something I know they'll be happy about, that will affect my participation in the shared interest but isn't really half hour chat on the phone to 30 people worthy

I really don't think the people I'm friends with on FB post stuff to boast They're just sharing good news with people who are interested to hear it. Maybe it's because my FB friends are all people I know and like and they aren't dicks?

SleepingStandingUp if it’s not worth actually telling these people on a phone call then they probably aren’t interested or care . So why bother putting it on Facebook if these people aren’t important enough for you to actually speak to?

Oysterbabe If your Facebook is full of people you know and like then why not tell them when you see/speak to them?

Honestly announcing things publicly like you’re the bloody queen or something! It’s a bit pathetic

if it’s not worth actually telling these people on a phone call then they probably aren’t interested or care

Completely agree.

Because some of them I won't see or speak to for months. Some of them live in New Zealand and some in Sweden. There are also quite a lot of them. It's not like taking out an ad in the paper or telling a load of strangers, it's a quick and easy way of telling lots of friends that you don't see often at the same time.

I've had two friends leave Facebook because they felt all they saw was people boasting about their perfect lives.

I thought it was odd as we have many of the same friends who post: good news, moaning about work, ridiculous things that have happened to them, about the realities of post natal depression - all sorts, definitely not 'perfect'.

Both came back after a year or so admitting that it was just their skewed perspective because they were in a bad place mentally themselves.

So unless you have boasting dicks for friends I think it's probably in your head and people are just sharing the ups and downs.

Rubbish, if they were that important you would at least text them

Rubbish it's the same as texting 50 people the same blanket message but quicker and with a picture and with a way for them to easily hit one button to react.

ClareB83 I think Facebook certainly makes people who are in a bad place feel even worse! That’s my whole bloody point ffs

So people should only share bad news?

Everyone thinks they are a celebrity 😂

Oyster may I suggest not mentioning it at all and it will be a huge surprise in a decade because according to Teetotal it's impossible to share good news without deliberately wanting to make other people sad

I'm happy to know other people are experiencing happy things so why would they not be happy in return?

If sharing happy news I'd just spiteful boasting what is it when people share sad news or difficult times?

ClareB83 no I didn’t say that?

Let me guess, you both did some silly pregnancy announcement because everyone is just falling over themselves to know everything about your lives 😂