Back in grade school, chain letters were a hit among girls. A typical chain letter convinces the receiver to make a certain number of copies and pass it to anyone. Fine it's a CHAIN letter and you are bound to it but I really didn't get the purpose and was never a part of it. Plus, it was a waste of ink and paper. Then emails became popular and there it is again.
And when mobile phones became a fad, I would receive a chain letter every day. At first, it was simple to ignore but the messages became frightening. If you will not pass this to let's say 10 people, (someone or you) will die, you will have bad luck, or the ghost of someone will visit you. When I started receiving these types of messages, I reply to the sender and ask not to send me one ever.
Unfortunately, chain letters evolved and it is now using the latest platform accessible to anyone - Facebook. I detest chain letters specially the one that says, "I'm pregnant or I'm having a baby." When you hit "Like" or "comment", the person who posted that sends you a personal message and asks you to do the same thing.
But there is this new chain letter that I find interesting.
Facebook tagging is creating a link to their profile which can be posted on that person's Timeline. You can tag anyone in your photos, in your status update or anything you want to share to that person.
I'm not new to the so-called "tagging" on Facebook because I have been using this social media platform for a long time. However, there are times I don't want to be tagged simply because it has nothing to do with me. Not to mention the annoying notifications you get even if it's from someone you don't know. But sometimes I just hit the "Like" button and move on.
Recently, I was tagged again along with a few people I don't know. I thought it was another status update and I almost yelled, "Brace yourself, notifications are on the way!" To my surprise, it was a chain letter but this one I like. It goes like this!
Tagged by (friend's name)
A list of 10 books that:
- have stayed with me
- are/have been significant in my life
- I immediately thought of upon learning about this challenge (no overthinking allowed)
1. Landry series by V.C. Andrews
2. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
3. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
4. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
5. Shogun by James Clavell
6. The Dark Half by Stephen King
7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
8. Lady Vixen by Shirlee Busbee
9. A Man Named Dave by Dave Pelzer
10. Sweet Valley Kids, Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley High Series
Tagging (friends' name)
Some of my friends consider this a chain letter but there are those who don't. I think it is a chain letter since the message was sent to you by simply tagging you. The only difference and perhaps the good thing about it is it does not force you to do anything. The person who was tagged is a bookworm and the person he or she will tag is also a bookworm, so no problem there.
I find this one meaningful because it brought back memories such as: the stories, the feelings, the age I read it, where I read it, and how I got the book. After a few tags, many are now into it but people tweaked it to make it look like a challenge to list not more than 10 books. And now, there's even one for films. I'd rather have this type of chain letter. It's simple and has meaning. Most importantly, it's not scary.
