Posted on 05/14/2009 7:52:58 PM PDT by JoeProBono
For longtime users of the Web site Facebook, getting an online request from someone to be your "friend" occurs almost daily.
Janelle Hardin, a senior at Azusa Pacific University, got a Facebook friend request from someone who made her a little uneasy -- even though she's known the person all her life.
Says Janelle, "It was weird when my mom got on because I didn't know she knew how to do stuff like that and also it is weird to see your parents on a Facebook profile."
Janelle decided to accept her mom, but not everyone is so gracious. Online groups like "keep parents off Facebook," and "eek, my mom is on facebook" are places for young adults to vent about the parental invasion.
Some young people say having parents on their Facebook page is like giving them the key to their online diary: once you accept a friend invitation, that person can see everything you're up to unless you set privacy limits. Pictures of parties and gossip are the biggest concern.
The last face I want to see on facebook is my kid’s. I find out they have an account and they’ll be wishing Algore hadn’t invented the internet.
Yeah, I know exactly what she means...
It made me a little uneasy when I got a Facebook friend request from Janelle's mom too...
We’re turning into a nation of 14-year old girls.
Haha. Thanks
fill in this old timer, what is facebook and how does it work?
HOWEVER - I have enjoyed it. I don't spend hours there, but it has helped several of us friends from high school reconnect and even have meals together - and you have to understand that I lived in a town where you might start kindergarten with someone and graduate from high school with them, still in the same class. As a matter of fact, that was the rule, not the exception.
I'm also my 17 y.o'.s friend, have to approve her friends, and have her password. And yes, I read her mail.
I signed onto to Facebook just because I know it freaked out my nieces and nephews. Haha.
Since then, I’ve been able to keep in touch with a lot of people from my past. It’s been nice.
I also frequently lurk. Much to the dismay of the aforementioned youth.
She has a few of her little friends online that she talks to but it's mostly a family Farm Town affair.
I have a daughter in Japan, Idaho and New Jersey and find this is the best way to keep track of them. Kids don’t write anymore, calling is inconvenient, but they sure respond to facebook requests in a hurry because they don’t want you embarassing them in front of their friends. It is the next best thing to having them home.
Facebook is a way of sharing your daily life with your friends. You can post photos of yourself and your activities or hobbies, your pets and family, your travels, home, or anything else that interests you. You can make comments about anything that pops into your head that you want to vent about or share: for instance, you might write that you had a flat tire today, or that something good happened at work, or that you got a big fat buck, or are excited that your team won the big game, or that you’re sick of sitting at your desk and want to leave the office for the day—anything. You will also read the activities, interests, and opinions of those you choose to include as your friends (though they do not have to be your real-life friends to be included).
It’s quicker and easier to use than email, since you don’t have to send copies to everyone; making one comment allows every one of your friends to know what your status is. You also have the ability to engage in online chats, or instant messaging, with any friend. You can choose the level of privacy that protects your information, from allowing anyone with a Facebook account to see your material to allowing only a select few friends.
My kids dragged me into this, and I thought it would be stupid. Instead, it’s been fun and satisfying. I can see what my daughter is doing at college and make sure my son is behaving himself in high school when he’s not under my eye. I have also discovered long-lost friends and relatives, made contact with people who share my goals and interests, and joined groups of people with similar affinities. It’s pleasurable to see pics of someone’s new grandbaby or dog or horse or spouse, to hear details of a trip or just to know what their emotional state is. We middle-aged people enjoy it just as much as the kids do.
Now we need to get them all to lurk here!
www.facebook.com
It is a great site to communicate with family and friends. I specifically like it because of communicating with high school friends and college friends. Also past military friends. It is great for military folks and folks who moved away from their hometown they grew up in. It is 100 percent worth setting up an account for.
“We’re turning into a nation of 14-year old girls.”
Yes!
I was in a restaurant today where at the next table a group of eight people clearly from a nearly office were having lunch. Maybe it was someone’s birthday or some special occasion. I overheard the man at the head of the table say to the woman next to him, “Oh really - you’re on Facebook; I’ll have to look for you there.” These people clearly see each other daily and in fact had made the effort to go out to lunch as a group, presumably to socialize. The chap seemed more excited about looking for the woman next to him on Facebook than chatting with her right then and there! Am I missing some logic? I thought it was funny.
Join the FR group on facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=26012226159;
and then invite your kids :D.
though I wonder if it would be possible to make an app for facebook with links to sections...
LOL Farm Town. If only the $$ were real!
Basically, it’s a site that lets people communicate with friends. You can use it for blogging, sharing links and news stories, etc. It can be good or bad.
It’s what you make of it. I’ve reconnected with friends from high school and college through Facebook.
There are networks of conservatives on Facebook, among other networks.
It’s kind of funny, since there are libs and conservatives among those I know. It’s one of the few places on the net where people of differing political viewpoints are civil since we all know each other in real life.
Since my ‘kids’ are well into their 20’s, I don’t have control over their Facebook (or any other) activity. If I did’t raise ‘em right, by this age, it’s my bad. At 17, I’d have exercised your level of control.
I joined last Fall because of a contemporary... it was the only way I could see pix she took at a Palin rally. Other than that I’ve stayed pretty apolitical there.
Like you, it’s helped me connect with old friends, and it’s a very easy way to keep in touch.
When my ‘kids’ and various nieces/nephews/friends of kids found out months later that I had an account, THEY asked ME to ‘friend’ them ... I made it a policy that I would not ask younger people. So far, it’s worked well and I enjoy seeing what they are doing, seeing their pix, etc. Occasionally I get a sweet note or ‘gift’ from the kids and their friends.
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