Parents on Facebook
Posted 21-01-2010 at 05:23 PM by Zee
As many of you will know; last night my father took it upon himself to comment on my mum's status, something along the lines of suggesting they were going to have sex. On a status. That my brother and I read. That all of my friends who have my mum added have read.
The boundary of acceptable and unacceptable barely exists when I'm with my friends; but when it comes to my parents, things are, as with most people, entirely different. It gets even more different when it's your friends and your parents. They have friends of mine added who are wild; smoking, nudity, excessive drinking - things that my parents have seen before, but don't like the thought of me hanging around with.
It's weird. My friends are my friends. The people that they are, those are my friends and that's why we are friends. But the people my parents see when they're round at my house aren't the same people the rest of the time; and I think we all tend to forget who's watching us when we post things online. I've pretty much censored myself on Facebook ever since my parents got it; but I have no control over what my friends post, nor do I have control over who adds my parents and whether or not they accept.
I am a secretive person. I don't have anything to hide, but I'm not very good at sharing my feelings or talking about myself to other people; and I feel as though by having my parents added on Facebook, I'm far more exposed than I've ever been before, and they know details about my life that I would never dream of telling them. They see my comments to my friends, they see pictures of me on nights out and the worst part is that they can do so anonymously.
I deleted my parents from Facebook today. I get on very well with them, they are my friends as well as my parents, but I've realised that I'm not okay with them knowing so much about my life. I'm re-adding my mum later, once she's deleted the rest of my friends who have her added, because I suppose I don't mind them seeing what I'm up to - Facebook is an exciting new way to keep in contact with people, that's what it is for, there is no age limit to it - but being able to see what my friends are up to, and seeing what I say to them and reading all our little in jokes... I'm not okay with that.
So I'm going to end this blog post with some questions, to any of you who read this: do you have your parents added? Do they have any of your friends added? Are you okay with it? How would you feel if they got a Facebook? How much information is too much information?
Yours fearfully,
Zee.
The boundary of acceptable and unacceptable barely exists when I'm with my friends; but when it comes to my parents, things are, as with most people, entirely different. It gets even more different when it's your friends and your parents. They have friends of mine added who are wild; smoking, nudity, excessive drinking - things that my parents have seen before, but don't like the thought of me hanging around with.
It's weird. My friends are my friends. The people that they are, those are my friends and that's why we are friends. But the people my parents see when they're round at my house aren't the same people the rest of the time; and I think we all tend to forget who's watching us when we post things online. I've pretty much censored myself on Facebook ever since my parents got it; but I have no control over what my friends post, nor do I have control over who adds my parents and whether or not they accept.
I am a secretive person. I don't have anything to hide, but I'm not very good at sharing my feelings or talking about myself to other people; and I feel as though by having my parents added on Facebook, I'm far more exposed than I've ever been before, and they know details about my life that I would never dream of telling them. They see my comments to my friends, they see pictures of me on nights out and the worst part is that they can do so anonymously.
I deleted my parents from Facebook today. I get on very well with them, they are my friends as well as my parents, but I've realised that I'm not okay with them knowing so much about my life. I'm re-adding my mum later, once she's deleted the rest of my friends who have her added, because I suppose I don't mind them seeing what I'm up to - Facebook is an exciting new way to keep in contact with people, that's what it is for, there is no age limit to it - but being able to see what my friends are up to, and seeing what I say to them and reading all our little in jokes... I'm not okay with that.
So I'm going to end this blog post with some questions, to any of you who read this: do you have your parents added? Do they have any of your friends added? Are you okay with it? How would you feel if they got a Facebook? How much information is too much information?
Yours fearfully,
Zee.
Total Comments 6
Comments
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Neither of my parents have FB,I don't think me and my brother would have let them have it. It is too much.Posted 21-01-2010 at 06:47 PM by Princess 
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i was stupid enough to put a picture of me smokin out of a bong on facebook
i forgot that 2 of my cousins are my friends on facebook
now my entire extended family know im a stoner lolPosted 21-01-2010 at 07:27 PM by Karl 
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Not only does she have FB she has more friends than me D:Posted 22-01-2010 at 02:05 AM by \PJ/
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Oh PJ, that sucks big time!! Haha bad move Karl, awkward turtle?Posted 22-01-2010 at 10:37 AM by Zee
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I have my mum on Facebook but she only adds family/her friends. My brother HAS added some of my friends though, which is irritating as he's only 11 [shouldn't even be on it. ****.] and talks to them at random. He's even added some guy who went to my school that not EVEN I have added.Posted 22-01-2010 at 02:55 PM by Shaun
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Here's my tuppence worth.. from the 'parent' perspective.
I think there's a danger (with facebook) of your entire social life becoming public.
Personally, I don't think you should be in the same network as your parents. I wouldn't re-add her either. You have MSN/email/phone/text to keep in touch. You don't need facebook to talk to your mother.
You have to ask yourself this: Would you invite your parents to come drinking with you and your friends.. or to go pick up girls at a club.. or hang around Big Dave's flat smoking hash... or steal a traffic cone and put it on a statue?[/random examples]
The answer is surely 'no'. Parents have no place being involved in their children's social lives in my view.Posted 22-01-2010 at 10:04 PM by lily.
