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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

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A Case of the Human Condition: Fewer Marriages — but More Facebook Relationships?

January 1, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Apparently, fewer Americans are getting married these days. (Check out the PBS Newshour story.)

But lots and lots of people are doing the next best thing: making a public declaration of being in a relationship — on Facebook.

Neither of my twenty/thirty-something kids is married. But both are telling the world they’re in a relationship … and they’re naming names.

The computers over at Facebook keep you honest, I notice. You can’t say you’re in a relationship with somebody unless they agree to it.

Read more about getting committed at “The Day She Popped the Question” and “Why He Never Called Me Back.”

On the other hand, some folks are so keen on marriage, they’ll marry a bunch of people all at once: The Darger family of Utah has three wives. Photo by BF Newhall

Filed Under: A Case of the Human Condition

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

A Forgotten Gift From My Teenaged Daughter — No Good After December 31

A three-by-five card on which a 12-year-old promises to yard work as a gift to her mother. Photo by BF Newhall

Look what reorganizing my stationery drawers turned up: Coupons from my then 13-year-old daughter Christina promising to do chores around the house — including yard work, for heaven’s sake. Read more.

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