Where it sits
The 2009 definition covered both readings on day one, and neither has won since.
Tell it apart
| Aspect | Vaguebooking | Subtweeting |
|---|---|---|
| Hides | An event | A person |
| Has a target | Often not | Always |
| Invites a reply | Yes | No |
| Hostile | Rarely | Usually |
| Wants | To be asked | To land a hit |
Subtweeting hides a person. Vaguebooking hides an event. If someone is meant to recognise themselves in it, it's a subtweet; if nobody is meant to know what happened, it's vaguebooking.
What it doesn't mean
The very first definition, in February 2009, already framed it as a possible CRY FOR HELP. The ambiguity is the point, and the practice has been publicly defended on exactly those grounds. Treating every vague post as manipulation gets some of them badly wrong.
They are coordinate terms, not synonyms. Subtweeting has a specific target who isn't named. Vaguebooking often has no target at all — just a withheld situation. One is aimed; the other is a lure.
What it really means
Well. That's that then.
Some people really show you who they are.
Can't believe this is happening again.
No names. No details. No context. And a comment section filling up with what happened? are you okay? DM me.
The word arrived on 19 February 2009, in an Urban Dictionary entry, and what is striking about that first definition is that it was already ambivalent. It described the practice as an intentionally vague status update — and as a possible cry for help.
Both readings, on day one. Neither has won since.
That ambivalence is the honest position. Vaguebooking is often exactly what its critics say: a bid for concern issued to everyone and addressed to no one. It is also, sometimes, what someone does when something has genuinely gone wrong and they cannot say it plainly to that audience — because that audience contains their mother, their manager, their ex and four hundred strangers.
Which is why the useful question is not is this manipulative? but who is this addressed to?
If a specific person is meant to recognise themselves in it, that is a subtweet — aimed, and usually hostile. If nobody is meant to know what happened, it is vaguebooking — a lure, and possibly a signal.
The word itself is a period piece now. It has Facebook built into it, which is why the neutral vagueposting replaced it — a small lesson about coining words around brand names. It did, however, make it into a crossword in 2017, which is one definition of arrival.
This page is educational and not a diagnosis. If someone's post worries you, contact them directly rather than analysing it.
Where it comes from
English
the platform
The platform is baked into the word, which is why the platform-neutral successor 'vagueposting' exists. Words that name a specific product age quickly.
- 19 February 2009
An Urban Dictionary entry defines it as an intentionally vague Facebook status update, and as a possible cry for help.
- 28 April 2015
A dedicated subreddit is founded, turning the practice from an accusation into a documented genre.
In real life
- 'Some days you just find out who your real friends are.' Within an hour, twenty comments: what happened?, you OK?, DM me x.
- 'Why the vaguebooking? Just tell us what's going on.' 'I can't — my boss follows me.'
- Worried by her cousin's cryptic late-night post, she skipped the comments and simply rang her.
Questions
Q01When was the term first defined?
19 February 2009, on Urban Dictionary — where the first definition already allowed that it might be a cry for help.
Q02Is it always manipulative?
No. The first definition of the word — an Urban Dictionary entry from 19 February 2009 — already allowed that a vague post might be a cry for help, and the practice has been defended in print since, notably by BuzzFeed News in a 2015 piece titled 'In Defense of Vaguebooking'. If a post worries you, respond to the person directly rather than diagnosing the post.
Q03Does it still apply off Facebook?
The neutral term 'vagueposting' now covers other platforms. 'Vaguebooking' has aged into a period word, which is what happens when you build a brand name into a coinage.
Sources
- Wiktionary — vaguebook.
- Know Your Meme — Vaguebooking.
- Berryman, Ferguson & Negy, “Social Media Use and Mental Health among Young Adults” (Psychiatric Quarterly, 2018) — PubMed.