Be a Man: Quit Whining on Facebook and Man Up!

The real world is a rough place. People experience joy and tragedy. In the past decade, the people of the world have experienced terrorism, war, pandemic, economic upheaval, natural disaster, and ecological disaster. So, nothing is more annoying than incessant whining about trivial matter like poor cell phone reception. As a man, you should strive to rise above womanly lamentations. When the going gets tough, the tough don't whine about it on Facebook and other social networking sites. You need to man up and move through cyberspace with confidence, humor, and dignity.

Obviously, facebook and other social networking sites are a good place to get job leads and you should communicate in order to get job leads. However, if you are a man, it's crucial that you communicate about your situation in a manly way. That means you stay action-oriented, upbeat, and you vanquish fear and panic. For example, if you've lost your job, then you might say, "After X years, I was laid off from Company Y with Z co-workers. I've revised my resume, applied for twenty jobs yesterday, and laid in a 30-day supply of Ramen Noodles. If you know anyone hiring, please contact me." This status communicates your situation, hints at your experience, shows that you are taking definitive action, incorporates humor, and asks for specific help. In addition, it doesn't reveal anything embarassing that future employers might see.

In contrast, a whiny status update might read something like, "Those jerks at Company Y let me go. I don't know what I'm going to do. Those bastards have really put us in a bind. We might lose the house and the car. We'll probably go live with my parents." While you may well feel intense feelings of betrayal, loss, panic, and dread, a status update of this sort communicates panic and disarray, indicates a bad attitude towards your former employer, and labels you as a loser. If you continue a steady drumbeat of Facebook negativity and whining, people will start ignoring your updates and may even drop you as a Facebook friend. Besides, living in van down by the river might not be that bad.

Once you've communicated your situation to your community of Facebook Friends, be prepared to graciously accept incoming job leads and advice. If someone provides a bona fide job lead, thank them, check it out, and apply for the job. If you reply with answers like I don't want to move, that job is too far away, and that job doesn't pay enough, people will see you as a whiny person who is finding excuses not to work. Your facebook friends will stop providing job leads and you will end up living with your parents for a long, long, time. People would much rather help someone who is cheerfully cleaning port-a-potties part-time than someone who is whining and playing farmville all day. If you need money, you can always write your way out of a bad situation through Associated Content anyway.

Job loss is just one extreme situation. However, the "no whining" rule applies to many other Facebook situations. Singles are also very annoying on Facebook. If you are a dateless bachelor, you need to man up and stop whining about it on Facebook. Of course, the classic Doors lyric that "women seem wicked when you're unwanted" is very true. But, don't ever let that be known on Facebook. Never say anything negative or whiny about a date or an ex online and don't lament your lame social life. In dating situations, you want to be very careful about posting the details of your personal life and whining. You must be discreet on Facebook and protect your privacy and the privacy of your dates. You also need to stay positive, emotionally secure, and action-oriented in your updates. Your facebook profile will be checked by prospective dates and your friends may be considering setting you up with a prospective date. Consequently, your Facebook profile should communicate that your are a great guy. Real men don't ask how their profile picture makes them look or how they look in various photo albums. As a man, you shouldn't care if a pair of jeans makes your butt look big.

Whining is something that toddlers and little kids do. Men don't whine. Read every Facebook update before you post it and ask yourself, "Is this whiny?" If your update is whiny, stop yourself, get yourself together, have some dignity, and don't post it. Instead, man up and find something positive, humorous, and action-oriented to post instead.