Now that more and more parents of teenagers are learning how to use Facebook, kids everywhere are learning how to avoid the awkwardness that could potentially ensue.
Facebook has been a staple in the social lives of high school and college students: the perfect social network to stay in touch with friends and find out what is going on in everyone’s life. However, many teenagers are slowly finding out that all the fun and games could turn into another situation for mom and dad to impose embarrassment and judgment.
Many parents have joined the network to keep in touch with their friends, just like their children have done. In this case, the parents do not mind being blocked from a child’s page, because they understand the social boundaries set in place. To other parents, joining Facebook was just a way of becoming more informed on what really goes on in high school, and especially in their child’s life.
Parents who friend request their children on Facebook usually do it with the intent of keeping tabs. “I would like to think that my teenager would tell me everything that they are doing, but I know that is not always the case, so I would use Facebook as a means of keeping up,” said RHS parent Michele Levior. Levoir is also friends with young nieces and nephews of whom she keeps up with by looking at status updates and tagged pictures.
Some cases of potential parental embarrassment include, but are not limited to, the posting of 4th grade pictures taken during an awkward Barney stage, wall posts using humiliating baby nick names and, sometimes, even the occasional status revealing secret insecurities like, “When will my son grow up and learn how to do his own laundry?”
Senior Kelley York has known that her mom has had a Facebook account for a couple years, but despite the popularity of her mom and even her mom’s own Facebook fan group, York is not giving in. When asked if she would ever accept her mom’s friend request, York said, “Maybe, but I’d have to think about it.”
Students and parents alike are being questioned on the increasingly popular debate over the controversial friend request. Students at RHS and elsewhere are likely to see a friend request from a parent in the upcoming months as a result of the increased versatility and manageability offered by Facebook.
As for now, a student’s best bet is to wade it out and talk to their parents about the honor that comes with being an official Facebook friend. It is not a matter to be taken lightly, especially if you have an embarrassing parent and let’s face it, who doesn’t?