If, this week, you've noticed that some female friends on Facebook are off to far-flung destinations for a few months, then don't get jealous; they are merely participating in the latest wave of breast cancer awareness (apparently). How writing "I'm off to Mexico for three months!" is helpful is anyone's guess.

Facebook users might recall that, a couple of years ago, women started updating their statuses to things such as: "I like it on the bed." Others had a preference for the kitchen table. Titillating perhaps, but women were merely explaining where they kept their handbags. Then there was the time women wrote cryptically in a different colour: white, black, hot pink. It turned out they were sharing the colour of their bras. This was all somehow supposed to spread awareness of breast cancer.

No one knows from where these "campaigns" originate. And while Breast Cancer Campaign, a recognised charity, welcomes any discussion about the disease, it, like many, fails to see how such action is helpful. "Our priority is to ensure that women have clear and detailed information available to them," says James Elliot, head of digital engagement, "which is something that these social media trends do not do." Quite.