Facebook adds relationship status options for gay users

Facebook adds relationship status options for gay users

Most students who receive their college education have their own Facebook pages, and many scholars use the social networking site to update their friends on their relationship status.

The popular online tool recently made a prominent change to its relationship options that has garnered national attention. According to CNN, Facebook added "in a civil union" and "in a domestic partnership" to its list of statuses last week in an effort to cater to the gay community.

Although some conservative groups are outraged by the changes, many gay-rights groups are applauding the additions, which are now available for users in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, France and Australia.

"By acknowledging the relationships of countless loving and committed same-sex couples in the U.S. and abroad, Facebook has set a new standard of inclusion for social media," Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation president Jarrett Barrios wrote in a statement, quoted by the media outlet.

While many liberal students at colleges and universities across America are praising the gay-friendly options, some advocacy groups believe that the two new relationship statuses are not enough. For example, Wired.com reported that some users claim that Facebook is supporting anti-gay marriage states by limiting their options to "civil union."

"[Some people say that] we are not good enough for the word marriage. Now Facebook is agreeing," said a user of the social website, quoted by the news source.

According to The Huffington Post, Dan Loewenherz has developed a new Facebook application that is designed to inform individuals about other people's relationship status. The Breakup Notifier allows users to check off the friends they are romantically interested in, but who are off the market because they are "in a relationship." People who sign up for this app will be notified via email when their crushes change their status to "single."

For example, students who are busy with college classes may not have access to their Facebook accounts all day. However, if they have a cell phone with Internet capabilities or they are permitted access to their email accounts scholars can regularly check if their dream dates are single.

"I hope that people use it for good and not evil it's merely practical," Loewenherz told the news provider via email. "If you're going to check someone's profile every day, you might as well get rid of the tedium and have the changes get delivered right to your inbox instead."

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