NYT OpEd: My ex-bf is dating Lady Gaga, or how I learned to stop worrying and embrace the insanity of social media

[Sho_Nuff82]

Here's what it's like to watch someone you were with for an eternity date one of the most famous—and fantastic—women in the world. (I am now an expert.)

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What this is not: A story griping about her ex, or Gaga's new album, or how social media is ruing our lives
What it is: A brief introspective impression in the bizarre ways social media has changed our lives, and can occasionally do so for the better.

Social media in 2020 is so ingrained that it's no longer a supplement or even an addiction. It's just an accelerated extension of the way humans have always behaved. We live in a culture of constant updates. You want to unsubscribe? Well, you can't.

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I don't follow my ex on social media. We were "friends" on Facebook. Then we were "in a relationship" on Facebook. After we broke up, I noticed I was "blocked" on Facebook. And then we moved on. I hadn't googled him in forever (I promise). But this month I knew everything about his new relationship status, within hours of when it was disclosed.

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Highly recommend a read especially for Gaga-Era, got a chuckle out of me.

 

[show me your skeleton]

i am definitely sure i could not handle an ex of mine dating someone Very Famous and Very Cool and Stuff
which i assume is not what this article is about but hey ho

 

[Yasuke]

Man, I'm not even gonna front.

This would break a nigga, assuming I wasn't over the ex. But I guess that'd be a damn good test of that.

 

[nsilvias]

> You want to unsubscribe? Well, you can't.

yeah, its at the point that if you dont have social media of somekind you'll basically be living under a rock.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

bruh... this shit would turn me into a jealous psycho stalker.

 

[PeskyToaster]

this person seemed to gain some sort of psychological nirvana about the situation lol good for her.

 

[Indy in the Fridge]

"He's just after her money."

I say to myself as I push my head further into my tear-soaked pillow.

 

[whytemyke]

I mean, you could always look at this like Rob in High Fidelity. If you get dumped but it's a clear upgrade, then you didn't really lose. Just got beat by a newer model.

 

[Deleted member 52442]

at first i was like what a grab

but it would be legitimately interesting to read this perspective if shes really introspective about it

 

[TAJ]

I mean, you could always look at this like Rob in High Fidelity. If you get dumped but it's a clear upgrade, then you didn't really lose. Just got beat by a newer model.

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Doesn't work if getting dumped had nothing to do with the new person.

 

[Jarmel]

I mean, you could always look at this like Rob in High Fidelity. If you get dumped but it's a clear upgrade, then you didn't really lose. Just got beat by a newer model.

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Yea I could see that. Would be infinitely worse if she dumped you for some slob off the street. Then you're thinking what the hell is wrong with you.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

I always feel this weird sense of pride when I see my exes (or just people I used to date) end up with someone cool/good-looking/successful. By contrast, if they end up with someone less than ideal, I feel like a jealous loser (how dare you?!?). It's definitely a weird psychological thing.

And in modern life, you end up being FB or IG or Snap or even LinkedIn connections with just about everyone you've ever had a cup of coffee with. So you have play by play of their vacations, their new jobs, their first house, their marriage, their anniversaries, their fitness classes, their kids, their divorces, and all of their hot takes on politics and pop culture, even though you may never see that person ever again. It's something you didn't have to think about even as recently as 20 years ago.

If your ex is friends with a bunch of your friends, or genuinely famous like the writer here, all of your friends get to share in the judgement of how much better (or worse) they're doing without you.

 

[Falchion]

What a bizarre situation to have to deal with. Sounds like she's in a good place about it though.