Between parenting a preschooler, working three jobs, training for a marathon, and keeping my home presentable, I barely have time to wash my face, so the idea of creating and maintaining a Facebook page is beyond the bottom of my priority list.
While the social networking site may be off my radar screen, for other parents it is the center of their universe. Personally, I always considered Facebook to be a phenomenon reserved for teens and 20-somethings, who wanted to keep up with their school chums. But, that was before I showed up for playgroup at my former colleague’s home a few months ago.
“Do you have a Facebook page?” my stay-at-home pal of two toddlers asked.
“Uh… no,” I replied, somewhat confused that my friend would associate me with a trend made popular by individuals half my age.
My pal then confessed that she was an obsessed Facebook mom and immediately sat me down in front of her computer to show off her “page” and legions of “friends” (she had 521 at last count).
I scanned the photos (cute) and the witty captions that accompanied them (very cute). Then, I learned how much time my pal spent posting the pictures and updating the anecdotes, which detailed every single one of her kid’s milestones (not so cute).
I haven’t conducted a formal survey, but I would venture to guess that there are many moms (and dads), who like my friend, update their Facebook page 24/7. Not that there’s anything wrong with sharing your life with friends and family members, but what of the young, innocent children, who make up the bulk of these Facebook pages? Have they become Facebook orphans?
I scoured the Internet and found that there are diverse opinions on the subject.
While some believe excessive facebooking, twittering, and texting cut into valuable time that could otherwise be spent actually interacting with children, an outspoken group of obsessed Facebook moms defend their habit by reasoning that these social networking technologies are sanity-savers for them. These stay-at-home Facebook parents claim that without high-tech communication they would suffer the torture of being isolated from friends and current events, because as one Facebook mom put it: “Being a stay-at-home mom is not the most intellectually stimulating job around.”
What’s more, queried another loyal Facebook mama, is participating in social networking activities any different than other hobbies? After all, how many devoted Facebook moms are married to men who spend an exorbitant amount of time on the golf course or in front of the TV cheering on their favorite sports teams? Those habits pull them away from their children for hours on end, but society doesn’t label them as bad fathers for doing so.
Do you have a Facebook page? Where do you stand on the subject of obsessed Facebook parents?
Image by: reshiftmedia.com
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