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Confessions of a Reluctant Facebook Parent

Within hours of posting my last blog regarding obsessed Facebook parents, I learned that not all moms and dads, who use the social networking site, do so willingly.

Enter Tom*.

I worked with Tom for about three years prior to becoming a stay-at-home. By the time I met him he was divorced and his teenage children were living with their mother in a neighboring state.

Tom was a veteran in our business, but by no means a dinosaur. Then again, he wasn’t a spring chicken either, so I wasn’t surprised to learn that when it came to high-tech stuff, Tom wasn’t exactly at the head of the class. In fact, he wasn’t even in the middle. Let me put it this way: If technology were a giant pool, Tom would be standing on the side reluctantly dipping his toe into the water, rather than diving in head first like some of our colleagues.

So imagine my shock when I learned that Mr. I-rather-use-a-hard-copy-encyclopedia-than-Google actually has a Facebook page.

The word “stunned” doesn’t come close to describing my reaction to the news.

What could have possibly incited this monumental turn of events? One word: Kids. Specifically, Tom’s now college-aged kids, who like many tech-happy students their age, live and die by Facebook.

According to Tom, creating a Facebook page was the only way he could keep up with his kids, who now live nearly 1000 miles away from him. Tom acknowledges that he felt a bit odd entering the 21st century via a social networking site that was created by a guy half his age, but he doesn’t have a single regret.

Tom writes: “Found out my daughter passed a test for her teaching degree. Where? On FACEBOOK! Found out my 19-year-old son has a relationship, a serious girlfriend. Where? ON FACEBOOK! All I did was look on the relationship status on his Facebook page and there it was: ‘In a Relationship!’”

As a mother of a preschooler, I feel for Tom… and myself. Could this be me in a few years?

How does it happen? How do you go from being the person your precious peapods tell everything to (including when, where, why and how they pooped) to someone they can’t even share a major milestone with?

Interestingly, these kinds of queries never once crossed Tom’s mind. Instead of dwelling on the fact that he had to learn about his kids’ accomplishments from the World Wide Web–at the same time as hundreds of other people; many who have known his children for only fraction of the time he has–Tom embraced a positive attitude.

He says he’s just happy that his kids let him be their Facebook “friends.”

Are you a reluctant Facebook parent?

(*Not his real name.)

Related Articles:

Are You a Facebook Parent?

Twitter Mom Still on My Mind

Would You Allow Your Teen to Do This?

How Often are you Mad at Dad?

Where Were His Parents?

This entry was posted in Teens and tagged , , by Michele Cheplic. Bookmark the permalink.

About Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. She spent the next ten years as a television anchor and reporter at various stations throughout the country (from the CBS affiliate in Honolulu to the NBC affiliate in Green Bay). She has won numerous honors including an Emmy Award and multiple Edward R. Murrow awards honoring outstanding achievements in broadcast journalism. In addition, she has received awards from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association for her reports on air travel and the Wisconsin Education Association Council for her stories on education. Michele has since left television to concentrate on being a mom and freelance writer.