Facebook has made finding out about potential partners a whole lot easier...

Before recently to find out what someone you have your eye on/going out with is up to or how they're feeling, you'd have to ask them yourself. Unless you stole their phone you wouldn't be able to see what they were saying to their friends and there's little to no chance of you being able to see pictures of them in a bikini before Facebook either. Facebook seems to have taken away the complexity in getting to know someone. Simply innocently add them as a friend and then start 'browsing' (the new innocent term for stalking) all of their friends, status updates, photos, events they attended, their FarmVille farm etc...

The only problem with the above method is that whilst you are able to do all the above online with no questions asked, it's not really socially acceptable and not something you should publically admit to, particulary to the person who you were 'browsing'. No problem, you think, I wont tell them what I've been doing on Facebook. However, the real problem here lies in that when you come to talk to them how much about them do you admit you know? When they're talking about their recent holiday to the Carribbean it's probably best not to mention how nice they looked in their bikini. If they're telling you their favourite TV show should you just say that you already know it's The OC becuase you spent ages trawling through all thier likes to see if there were any matches with yours? Probably not.

Whilst Facebook has made it infinately easier to do the preliminary work of 'getting to know someone' at the start of your relationship, pubically it's probably not the acceptable way you're supposed to do it. It's a bit like using the microwave to cook things, it's a lot quicker and easier but for something of real quality, you're better off taking the traditional route.