Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Social Media
  3. Opinion
  4. Web
  5. Features

WTF Internet? The marriage you proposed on Vine is more doomed than MySpace

By
Add as a preferred source on Google

WTF Internet 06_02_2013 headerApparently, the Internet has witnessed yet another first: The first Vine proposal. 

It took everything in my being to type that out without cutting my fingers off one by one.

Yes, it’s true, L.A. business consultant Curt Buthman (ugh, of course he’s from L.A.) made “social media history” when he proposed to his girlfriend Marsha Collier via Vine. Here’s the romance in all its glory:

Marsha (obviously) replied via Twitter.

Don’t worry, she said yes. I know, I know, I too got caught up in the Internet of it all and forgot there was even an answer to be had!

Alright so let’s break down everything that’s wrong with this, because if we don’t parcel it out I’m just going to start have some sort of aneurysm. First of all, it’s not just a Vine engagement – it’s the entire idea of using social media to propose. I get it: Some people want to make the big, huge gesture: The fireworks, the jumbo-tron, the hot air balloon, the Eiffel Tower.

(Fun sidenote! I once ruined a proposal on the Eiffel Tower by make a “gross” face in some lovely couple’s photo of the blessed moment. Sorrynotsorry, weirdos.)

Those are all big, bold gestures – you’re basically involving everyone within 100 yards to bear witness to your love. But using an app to do it? C’mon now. Do you need that much attention?

Seriously, this Instagram proposal makes me feel bad for this guy’s followers. They were spammed with horribly boring photos of the shopping spree-meets-scavenger hunt he sent his girlfriend on. Seriously, it’s like more than a dozen photos. He’s not the only one: Do you know how popular the #proposal and #willyoumarryme hashtags are on Instagram? Well now you do. This simple Statigram search led me to discover that there is something called #willyoumarrymewednesday on Instagram. Sometimes I don’t want to be part of this world. 

As for Twitter, that’s how these two got engaged … so I think that’s probably enough said on that.

deadmau5 twitter proposal
Image used with permission by copyright holder

So yeah, attention whores, just keep the rest of us out of it. There are probably only 10 or 20 people following you via different social networks who care even a little bit.

Second, if you’re the type of person looking to score a “World’s first Vine proposal!” headline, well, I’m going to keep the very mean things I’m thinking about your future marriage to myself. No one should care about Vine or Instagram or Twitter or Facebook that much. “Yeah but it got me on Mashable!” is not a reason.

Last, how impersonal can you get? Look, I love the Internet a lot, and like many of you reading this, I definitely hate interacting with people a lot of the time. I’m all for self-checkout at grocery stores, paying my parking tickets online, and Amazon changed my life. But that’s because it keeps me from having to engage with strangers. I’m cool with talking to my friends and family in person, IRL – nay! I even like it! Unless physical distance is a fact and you simply cannot stand the wait (oh, you’re so in love, no one has ever loved like you two! You basically invented the stuff!), why wouldn’t you want to do it in person?

I’m all for interacting digitally when it comes to just about everything – but seriously, getting married? Now that is just some crazy nonsense. I feel like in 100 years, our alien overlords are going to see this shit and just shake their heads.

In summary, put down the app, absolutely do not snap a selfie, log off Facebook, and man (or woman, no judgement) up. And then go to town posting all the evidence – I’m not a monster, I know you can’t help yourselves.

Molly McHugh
Molly McHugh
Former Social Media/Web Editor
Before coming to Digital Trends, Molly worked as a freelance writer, occasional photographer, and general technical lackey…
Topics
Yet another study finds too many kids are seeing harmful content on social media
Despite the UK's Online Safety Act coming into force last year, a new study found that harmful content is still reaching a third of teenagers and nearly half of all girls on social media every week.
a boy using iPhone

A year after the UK's Online Safety Act came into force, a new study has found that harmful social media content is still reaching teenagers at nearly the same rate as before the law took effect. Research by the Molly Rose Foundation (via The Guardian) found that a third of all UK teenagers and nearly half of all girls encountered suicide, self-harm, depression, or eating disorder content on social media in the span of just one week.

What the data shows

Read more
Facebook and Messenger outage sparks logout panic as Meta services stumble
Downdetector reports spiked as users said Facebook and Messenger kicked them out, with Instagram also affected.
Meta featured image

Facebook and Messenger users were briefly knocked offline Friday morning, with many saying they had been logged out and couldn’t get back in. The Facebook and Messenger outage sent users to X, Reddit, and other platforms to check whether the problem was widespread or tied to their own accounts.

Downdetector showed the first visible surge in Facebook complaints around 9:52 a.m. ET.

Read more
The social media scrolling habit is more harmful than you think, especially for teens
Decade-long study reveals teen scrolling may come with a mental health cost
A person seated at a table scrolls through their instagram timeline.

A new Australian study is adding more weight to the argument against social media. And it's even revealing how just how much social media is too much for teenagers. Research led by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute found that adolescents who spent at least two hours a day on social media were more likely to experience depressive symptoms and poorer wellbeing one year later than those who used social platforms for less than one hour a day.

The study does not prove that social media directly caused those mental health problems. But the link is notable because the research followed young people over time instead of just relying on data from a short-term study.

Read more