Relationship Status : It’s Complicated!

It was 3 years ago when I started to notice Friendster’s trademark status category “it’s complicated”. I was amused and amazed at the same time to learn that such has been recognized universally perhaps and already accepted to describe ones relationship when one could not determine and caught between being single and being in a relationship.

While I do not begrudge other people’s right to choose “it’s complicated”, I have several questions about it. I would never have used it until couple months ago when Facebook required detailed information about your relationship status.

Legal documents only have these relationship status options:

Married
Single (Never Married)
Widow
Divorced
Separated

While online social networking community like Friendster and Facebook have these in addition:

In a Relationship
In an Open Relationship
Engaged
Domestic Partner
It’s complicated

I have no idea what is “In an Open Relationship” but I have a vague idea of an “It’s Complicated”, and if they are trying to invent more relationship status, they should include long distance relationship in there too.

I long for the days when it was easy to define one’s life. If you are not with somebody, automatically you’re single. If you’re with someone, you’re either in a relationship of married.

My generation has come up with so many neither here nor there concepts like MU (mutual understanding, close to friends with benefits?); dating friends; meantime girl or boy and a whole lot of things that escapes me at the moment.

Isn’t this world confused enough without these “innovations”? Isn’t it time to bite the bullet and stop playing games? Why does it have to be so complicated?