Old People on Facebook – I guess we are here to stay!
whispers being passed along
Facebook is making me a crazy person. I am staying up later, losing sleep, not working as much, certainly not as effectively. It’s like a huge gigantic source of gossip (which I supposedly stopped doing years ago). How did I manage to go from walking and floating and contemplating my inner world in Costa Rica to scrambling to see who wrote on my facebook page every few hours? I feel like I am in a race…did someone ask to be my friend today? How many friends do I have now? I feel like I am 13! Well, I’m acting like I am 13, I still feel 40! ok, 48. Oh, and then there is my judgmental side coming out like, “who has time for all those cutesy little notes and dumb gifts” and “why isn’t he/she working or studying?”
I imagine millions of others wasting time in the same way as me, and it’s not just facebook, it’s twitter, linked in, my space, all those time-wasters. We use to “connect” with each other by arranging lunch dates, now we just facebook each other. Are we connecting? Is this the NEW WAY OF HAVING A RELATIONSHIP?
Then I think, how awesome it is to connect with people I would go to my grave never seeing or talking to again. We now see each other’s families. We know about each other’s careers, struggles. I have people I can visit who live in other countries! I can even market my workshops, radio shows, and this blog.
On the other hand, maybe I know too much about other people’s lives. My girlfriend had a date with her husband, and a number of us had to give our 2 cents on what they should talk about on their date! Who do we think we are??? What Chutzpah!
Well, for those of you who have been following my blog, you know that while I was in Costa Rica, I found out my daughter got married – on facebook. I found out how much my son was partying at college – through pictures on facebook!
I just saw this amazing article today, written for college students, warning them of the dangers of their Mother’s being on Facebook and finding out everything about them, and annoying them with little gifts, little pieces of advice, little requests for help. I laughed so hard…they are really making fun of us older women trying to be so cool, networking, and figuring out how to use the computer! Here is that article:
http://collegecandy.com/2009/04/14/your-mom-just-facebooked-me/#comment-29025
I think if we want to play ball with the college students, we better be able to deal with their reality and not freak out when we discover parties and carrying on at college. And, let’s not forget…we partied too and we were much younger and we survived!
Today, a high school friend sent me a NOTE on facebook, and I wanted to respond and do what he asked. It was one of those get to know each other better things…It took 3 explanations from him to explain. (Thankfully another woman from high school also asked 
) I guess this is some of the frustration the kids feel dealing with us! This article mentioned that there was a privacy setting function. Does anyone know how that works?
Another friend posted an article that college students grades are going down, and they spend a great deal of time on facebook and my space, but they SWEAR that it has no affect at all on their grades! Give me a break, I can see in just a few weeks, my productivity has gone down, down, down!
OK, I admit it, I do love connecting with old friends, with new friends, and truth be told, checking up on my daughter from time to time.
Lori, a mother on facebook
