These days a day doesn't go by that I don't see some sort of engagement ring ad on my Facebook. I haven't figured out why, exactly, they keep coming up, though it's likely because of my age/gender. I've actually seen a few ads/pages that have been "liked" by a couple of my female friends, so I guess the ads somewhat successfully catch the attention of the ladies in my demographic. For my part, I tend to delete them and hit that "against my views" option (lol) but they just come right back!
In any case, the cultural message here is that women should actively search for what I consider a wedding gift, for them, and then bombard their men with websites and pictures of possibilities, assuming that the men are actively exploring these options. The not-so-subtle message to the men is "Hey, you better be thinking of wifing me up soon, and by the way, I want this nice big shiny one!" For goodness sakes, I've heard of Christmas lists but let's not overdo it.
The problem is that weddings have become just one more symbol of materialism rather than an expression of love and commitment. It's almost like the excitement that builds up before Christmas, and the sad letdown during January when the holidays are over. That's no way to set up the spirit of a marriage.
