Do you ever stop and think about how different the world is since Facebook?
No, I'm totally serious.
When I was in elementary and middle school I participated in pen pal programs. We would write to kids in other states or other parts of the world and thought it was soooo cool. Think how silly that must seem to kids today. Wow. Write a letter to a kid and then wait two weeks to get one back? Gosh, why? Now we can have a video chat with kids on the other side of the world instantly. You can do video tours of museums, landmarks, zoos. You can see the world from your computer desk. Heck, with tablets and smart phones now, you can see the world from a park bench, a local cafe, heck, while using the john!
How bizarre our children will think our childhoods were.We didn't even have cell phones until we were teenagers. They'll wonder how the heck we kept up with all of our friends. How we got in touch with someone. What we did with our free time. How we survived without apps and navigation and games at our fingertips all the time. It's wild to think about.
Technology is one thing. But Facebook. Now Facebook is amazing. And scary. And has really changed how society functions.
I admit I'm absolutely obsessed with Facebook. I post pictures all the time, I update my status several times a day at minimum, I'm friends with people from work, college, high school. I get status updates via text message from my close friends and family and I have the Facebook app on my Droid. Yeah. Obsessed.
A lot of negative can come from Facebook. Hi-tech bullying for example or stalking. But a great deal of positive as well.
My church's women's group has a page where we post prayer requests, talk about issues and events in our lives. We support each other, offer up advice and plan benefits. It's a great way to keep up with events going on at the church. Since our church is kind of large, its a wonderful way to get to know all of the other women better. I've gotten to know some of them much better and it has really made me feel more at home in the church.
Another benefit from Facebook is keeping up with my family from across the country. I get to see pictures of cousins and new babies and know what's going on in their lives. I get to offer support when something goes wrong and celebrate when things go right. It helps keep us close when the busy bustle of our daily lives doesn't allow us the time to talk. And with all the kids and hurried schedules, we don't frequently have time to talk.
Facebook even offers the chance to reconnect with friends you haven't spoken to in years. People from high school or college that you just haven't been able to stay in touch with since you've moved away and started your life in the real world.
A lot of the time, we focus on the negative aspects of Facebook. People getting in trouble for things they post about their boss, people over sharing about their lives, people posting some really inappropriate pictures, or kids seeing things they shouldn't see. We think about how much it has taken away. The barriers people used to have in the lives and the privacy we thought we all needed. Those don't exist now. Not for those of us in the Social Network generation. For better or worse, that's what we deal with.
I really dread the day that my kids want a Facebook page. I don't know how I will handle it. And I know with the way things move, that day will be coming sooner rather than later. A lot sooner than I want. I don't see how I can not let them have one when I spend so much of my time and energy with Facebook. Of course, their Facebook usage, and internet usage in general will be very closely monitored. I'm going to be one of those mean parents that has parental controls on all the computers and blocks. I'll be reading text messages, emails, status updates, monitoring pictures. I've seen how much a hasty upload can do to someone's future. The wrong picture could turn up on the internet when they're trying to get into college or get a job. It could ruin them.
There are a lot of complications for parents in the Social Network generation. With technology more and more advanced...I can't imagine what will be around by the time my girls are starting school. Compare technology today to technology five years ago. It can blow your mind. I get a little panicky just thinking about it. Especially with two little girls. I don't know, I just worry more about girls than boys.
But who knows, maybe the Facebook thing won't last and by the time my kids are old enough to want a page it'll have just died off.
Yeah...right.
By the time our kids are old enough and wanting a FB page, there will be something completely different that we won't have a clue about. haha
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