I hate April Fools Day. April Fool’s Day sucks. It truly and utterly sucks. It’s the one day of the calendar, with the exception of Valentine’s Day, that really, truly grates. Here are my five reasons why!

• April Fools Day jokes are just not funny. I have a sense of humour. I’d like to say I have a good sense of humour – but pranks and tricks and stupid ‘fake news’ articles just don’t raise a laugh anymore, at least not for me. I’m an educated woman, I am probably ‘middle aged’ and so these days there ain’t much that can convince me – with some of these attempts at elaborate hoaxes are pretty pathetic. Do I believe that Krispy Kreme are changing their name to avoid mispronunciation in the UK? No. The bigger shock would be if it was true. Either way, it ain’t particularly funny!
• What’s the Difference? Before social media, April Fool’s Day was pretty harmless – pranking a teacher or colleague before quickly revealing the joke; and always abiding by the before midday rule. Unfortunately now our media is so hooked on fake news anyway that for me it has become just like any other day – not knowing whether to believe what we have read, or whether ‘Project Clickbait’ has struck again – a cleverly worded headline to entice a reader to click, only to roll their eyes and give up halfway through when they realise that all is not as it seems. The media prey on morbid curiosity and we play into their hands. Anything for traffic right?
• There are too many April Fools! It’s fair to say that by 9am on the 1st April my feed will be full of poor attempts at fooling the general public, so many in fact, that my entire news feed may as well all be wiped away and started again. There are too many of them, they are too predictable, and largely? They suck. Brands are even trying the ‘Eve of April Fools Day’ approach now in the hope they can catch us off guard, but guess what?! It’s all been done before!!
• April Fools Day jokes can backfire! Remember Google’s Minion Mike Drop debacle? Now THAT was funny- but only when it went wrong and they had to grovel.
• April Fools Day jokes can cause hurt – a fake pregnancy test? Not funny. Buying fake positive tests off the internet? Definitely not funny! People need to think before they do this of those who are desperate for a child of their own or have just lost one – becoming a parent, for the majority, is not a joke.

Am I a party pooper? Maybe. But I DON’T LIKE APRIL FOOLS DAY and personally? I’d rather get my giggles from a cat gif! Honestly.

Do you like April Fools Day? Have you ever been properly fooled my something you’ve seen online on 1st April?

(Also I hate January too- there appears to be a bit of a trend!)