I am a member of a couple of social networking sites. I have a myspace page, though I got bored with it ages ago and rarely use it any more. I don't think I am the only one to desert. These things are pretty faddy. I also have a facebook page, which I used to view about 400 times a day, but am beginning to lose interest in and now only view about once an hour. These pages are useful for publicising my work and keeping up with friends, but I think for me at least the bubble may have burst a bit. But then I am 41. They're not really for me.

Plus because the page has my name and my status is "single", nearly every time I log in to my page I get an advert which seems to be crowing and criticising me. "Over 40 and single?" it taunts. I am not sure this is good target advertising policy. It sounds less like an invitation to join an advertising site, than a dismissal of my whole life. You've got to your fifth decade and you're not in a relationship? How tragic are you? They might as well add, "Please do not click on this advert, we wouldn't want our site tainted by association with such a saddo."

I don't know why they feel the need to put an age on the advert. Maybe they think that people won't realise that they are being specifically targeted based on their profile and be amazed that an advert on their site seems almost tailored to them. Maybe they think that people over 40 might not have realised they were over 40 and now having had this pointed out will think "Shit! What am I doing? I am over 40 and single. I'd better find a partner immediately. Thank God these people let me know."

Either way I wouldn't have thought that this tactic would be efficient, serving just to make the intended recipient feel awkward and/or depressed. Presumably though it is having some success as they haven't changed it.

Or perhaps it is just targeted at me alone, being the only person of my age with such a status on the whole of facebook. And the site is just trying to help me out.

The flaw in their campaign is that were I in a relationship I would not change my status on facebook. Because all relationship status changes go into your little newsfeed, which is fine when you're in love and everything is going well, but the minute you break up with someone then you have to decide when and how to make the change and everyone you know (or don't know, but have accepted as a friend) is going to discover that yet another relationship has foundered and died. I think this devalues and demeans life too much.

I could just not put a relationship status in there, but the problem with that is that if I were to change it now then everyone on facebook would be told I was no longer listed as single. It's a social quagmire.

So the point is, crowing advert, that just because your records show that I am over 40 and single, I might not be over 40 and single.

I might be, but you can't be sure.

So bad luck, your taunting falls flat.

I am over 40 though. And you are going to continually remind me of that. So I guess you've still won.

More worryingly they also sometimes advertise a sexy uniform dating site and I have given no indication on my profile that I would be interested in dating someone based solely on the uniform they wear for their job. The thing is that I am interested in that (it's not like I could go out with someone without the uniform and just hire or buy one for them to wear). How did they know? They can see into my brain.

I presume there aren't sites for the other filthy and disgusting things that they have seen in there!

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