Editing 355: Couple

{{comic
| number    = 355
| date      = December 10, 2007
| title     = Couple
| image     = couple.png
| titletext = Facebook defines relationships. 'Yeah, we would have broken up last night, but the net connection was down.'
}}

==Explanation==
It's hard to know when you are in a relationship in modern times. In olden days, you might fancy a girl, then ask her father if you might court her, and if he granted his permission, you would be a couple. Today, that kind of structure and formality is considered antiquated in most western cultures; as a result, we don't have any of the straightforward cues.

This comic suggests that "making it {{w|Facebook}} official," which means asserting the existence of a romantic relationship on Facebook by setting one's status to "In a relationship," has by 2007 become a way to define when you are a couple. [[Cueball]] would like to do it, probably after having sex for the first time with his love interest, to get confidence in his relationship and/or show it off to his friends. Because his love interest isn't so sure about that relationship, or doesn't like to formalize it and prefers to enjoy without thinking too much about it, he suggests a compromise: using the "It's complicated" status instead. And he does so with a phrasing very reminiscent of a formal way to propose to marry someone ("Will you be my wife?").

The title text takes it a step further, suggesting that {{w|Facebook}} has become the only reliable way to know about relationships — even so, without access to Facebook, relationships can't evolve.

When this comic came out in late 2007, Facebook was not even 4 years old, but very popular among young people, who would share their lives in great detail back then. As of 2019, most people are more hesitant about instantly sharing all details of their personal life publicly.{{Citation needed}}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan in bed.]
:Cueball: So is this it? Are we a couple now?

:Megan: I just don't know. I like this. I just... don't know.

:[Silence.]

:Cueball: Well will you be my "it's complicated" on Facebook?

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Social networking]]
[[Category:Sex]]