Why status destroys a relationship

Many girls and guys make such a big fuss over being in a reltaionship. They change their Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Blog etc etc to show that they are in a relationship with whoever they are with at the moment. They splash pictures all over walls and photo albums to declare that they are in a relationship. But what is this "relationship"? It's nothing more than a verbal agreement to be exclusive.

With no contract signed and no recording of the contract, this is hardly a contract worth mentioning. The thing about this "contract" is that it comes with certain rules and expectations that are not usually clearly stated down and are prone to different inferences. It is just like when you are signing the contract after passing a job interview to be an office administrator. They do not tell you point blank WHAT you are supposed to do, but you can hardly say that it is not in your job scope when people pass you documents to print, copy and send; you are EXPECTED to do so.

Same with a relationship. When you are together with someone, there are certain rules like not sleeping with other people, no more multiple dating, saving a certain day a week for that special someone... the list goes on. Then there are those rules that are a bit stricter which people will enter into their expectations like seeing the other party everyday, texting the person "goodnight" and "good morning", no one on one outings with anyone of the opposite sex... it depends on how far you want to take it and how crazy you can get, really.

But why sign this contract in the first place? Why can't two people be in love, but not be outrightly boyfriend and girlfriend (or whatever combination)? The contract heaps on so much expectations and rules to follow that it might very well kill the romance that the relationship should be centred around. From it being a bonus and joy to see the other party when they are free, it becomes a chore to WAIT for the other party to be free to go out with you. From it being sweet when the other party randomly texts you a night goodnight message, it becomes agony when the boy/girlfriend forgets to do so. Things that were once bonuses that bring a smile to your face becomes triggers for fights when they are not given.
Is this really worth it? Why ruin love for the status and ability to tell the world that you sort of "own" the other party?