This might be a very unpopular opinion, or maybe it's just my depressed thoughts creeping in, but I really don't understand what the problem is if someone forgets your birthday. To be more specific, why do people remove their birthdays from social media just to see who remembers them?
For example, I'm the kind of person who has ADHD and a terrible memory. I sometimes forget my cousins' birthdays, not because they aren't important to me, but because my brain is always so distracted that I just can't help it. I love it when there are reminders because I do care about people, and I do want to wish them happy birthday. I just can't add every single person to my Google Calendar, which is why I find Facebook birthday notifications and similar notifications from other social media so useful. And if it's someone I don't really know, I'll just laugh at the notification because Facebook thinks it's someone I'm close to, but the last time I talked to that person was 10 years ago, and then move on. When it comes to my own birthday, I really don't mind if people are reminded of it in any way. Even if they see a notification or someone mentions it to them, it's still their choice whether to click that button, send me a message, or do anything at all. That means they thought about me for at least a second, and I really appreciate that. There will be people who wish me happy birthday in a private message or in person, and I appreciate that even more, and that's enough for me, even if it's only a few people. Maybe I'm just a terrible person, but I don't like blaming people for something that I sometimes do myself. I also don't think I'm the only person who forgets birthdays through no fault of their own. Plus, we all know that this world is a hypocritical and unfair place. There will always be people who choose others over us or forget about us, but why should that matter so much? As sad as it may be, we will also do it to people and might not even realise. Staying stubbern about it won't change anything.