Imagine it’s a normal day, and you’re going through your typical, slightly predictable life.
Suddenly, a personal conversation you had with somebody has gone viral on the Internet.
How would you feel about that?
We imagine the following emotional state: first denial, anger at oneself and the person who uploaded it, bargaining with the publisher and possibly the entire Internet to delete it, depression, and finally acceptance that you’ll never be able to show your face in public again.
You’ll have to work from home, order groceries online and forever entertain yourself with Netflix.
For one unfortunate couple, the double-edged social media sword struck them right where it hurts — their love life.
A man and a woman didn’t get much of a chance to think before their entire breakup went viral and even started a trending hashtag on Twitter, #PlaneBreakup.
The couple’s break-up spread like wildfire across the Internet when Kelly Keegs (@keegs141) decided to live-tweet their break-up while she was on a flight delay.
Why wait for the in-flight rom-com when you can just watch the real thing two seats away from you?
It all started when Keegs noticed a woman crying and overheard the rest of her conversation with her ex-boyfriend.
Usually a crying infant will annoy any plane passenger, but an adult woman sobbing will definitely turn heads.
If you read the tweets, it’s actually quite humorous.
We think the most comedic part is how relatable the breakup actually is.
We’ve all been there.
We have all had a messy breakup or two in our lives.
It happens to everyone — but probably not on a plane, and it probably didn’t end up as the next Internet sensation.
For this we are thankful.
However, the question remains.
Was live-tweeting this plane breakup going too far, or did this couple deserve it with their very public breakup and annoying behavior?
Should Keegs have just texted a friend about it instead?
Firstly, the Editorial Board believes we can all agree this couple probably did the worst job possible of breaking up in private.
They’re sharing what is basically a metal tube with about 50 other people who are way too close to each other and are probably aggravated by the delay.
So, their whole debacle was loud enough for Keegs to hear everything along with other passengers on the plane.
We also think there is always a chance something may turn up on social media in the modern day.
How else do you explain Alex from Target?
We’re all so caught up in our phones and being present online that anything that may be funny or interesting to us could possibly be posted on the Internet.
Except Snoop Dogg’s constant attempts at becoming a meme. It’s never going happen, Snoop.
We also may or may not have live-tweeted something before, like observational tweets about a really sassy 15-year-old at Starbucks who’s yelling at her poor mother.
We do think it is kind of a downer that anything you do may potentially end up on someone’s social media or sent to someone else, etc.
But are you asking for it?
If you’re willing to have that private conversation in a public place, don’t be surprised when it ends up on someone’s Twitter feed.
Posting pictures, however, was going a little too far for our taste.
It was almost like some sort of release form should have been involved.
Overall, we believe there should be a line between what’s made public and what should be kept private.
Whether you cross that line or not could very well determine if your a decent person or someone with 1 million followers.
However, if you’re going to make a spectacle like this couple did on a plane, then perhaps you’re just asking for someone to share it.
And if we’re being honest, we’ll probably read it and laugh along with the rest of the world.
Just make sure you’re photo-finish ready.
