Disclaimer: To any baby boomers that see this and are my Facebook friend, please forgive me.
Social Media is an ever-evolving medium that is still in the early stages. No one can say where it is going next or how it might continue to integrate itself into our lives every single day. There is Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, FourSquare, Google Plus and more. No one can deny that social media keeps expanding as more people use it for a wider variety of purposes. Social Media is used for fun, for advocacy, for business, for news, for public relations and for advertising. The list goes on and on.
For the purposes of this blog, I’m going to focus on the largest social medium available: Facebook. Facebook is clearly not just for college kids anymore.
One day while minding my own business and doing my usual Facebook check, Facebook “suggested” that I may know a few people. On the list: my neighbor who has been retired for probably ten years, my grandpa and a couple of my aunts. Next, a dreaded thing happened: a friend request from my aunt. Luckily, she’s awesome so I decided to accept her. I have nothing to hide. But I gave her this ultimatum: “The first time my dad calls me up and says ‘Logan, I heard you had such and such on Facebook’ I’m done. I will delete every single member of the family.” She agreed. Since my family is really laid back, I don’t have a problem with being their Facebook friend.
The problem I have is when I see countless Baby Boomers that completely miss the concept of Facebook. I agree that Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with long lost family or friends. However, I don’t need to know what your kids are doing, I don’t need to know what you had for lunch, and I don’t need to know how your diet is going. I DEFINITELY don’t need to know how every step of your daughter’s wedding planning is going nor do I care to see 1,000 pictures of your new child or grandchild. Facebook is not a replacement for a family photo album. Facebook is not the place for you to brag about your children, Baby Boomers, save that for those unnecessary Christmas letters.
At least some adults have it right. When I told my dad about my run-in with my aunts on Facebook he responded, “I got a Facebook once, for a day, and then I saw someonepost about how she took a shower and then went to the laundry mat. I was like, this is so stupid, and I don’t care what the hell she’s doing. So I deleted it.” You rock, Dad!
You may claim to know all about Facebook, but you don’t. We all know the signs: tagging people in a picture because you think that’s the only way they can see it, updating your status instead of writing on someone’s wall, writing on your child’s wall and signing it “mom” although they clearly know who wrote it, writing “thinking of you!”on your child’s wall every other day. We know a Facebook amateur when we see it.
For your benefit, I’ve compiled a quick list of things you should never do.
1) Don’t ever say to your kids “What did you do this weekend? I saw those Facebook pictures.” If there is stuff you don’t want to see, don’t be our friends.
2) If you’re a new parent, don’t flood our news feeds with gross details about your child. Some things just don’t need to be on the Internet. (i.e. diapers or anything that involves diapers)
3) Don’t feel the need to post every picture you take on your phone to Facebook.
4) Only use Facebook to connect with old friends and see what your college buds are up to. If you want to talk to us, call us or at least send us a text.
5) Lastly, and most importantly, we beg you; please don’t put your or anyone else’s ultrasound on the Internet. It’s weird. We’re happy for you but it’s weird. Oh yeah, and it’s weird.
Images from: http://wf360.typepad.comand http://gizmodo.com