Facebook has turned me into a 7th grader

First there was MySpace - but Melissa says, "Mom, nobody does Myspace anymore".  Then Typepad, then Flickr, then Twitter, then there is Etsy, but I don't have one of those, and now Facebook...oh my gosh, Facebook.  Facebook was something that my daughters used to keep up with college, and high school friends.  Facebook was where they told me to go to look at photos, if I wanted to see what was happening in their world.  Facebook - I am now on Facebook - how crazy is that?  Ashlee said, "I'm not sure how I feel about you being on there Mom".  Lizzy says, "Facebook is for my college friends".  When I told her I had just become friends with someone, she said, "they are on there too?  Have the quilters taken over Facebook?"  As if all of this isn't bad enough, who has time to quilt, or do anything?  I'm always checking my email, always checking if someone has written on my wall.  The girls would tell me about one of their friends, and I'd ask if they had spoken with them recently...they'd say 'no, they wrote on my wall'.  I'm thinking "wrote on your wall, why on earth would someone write on your wall???"...it's a facebook thing Mom.  I feel as if I've stumbled into a party that my children are attending, but where I don't really belong.  They are much too polite to tell me to leave, but they aren't quite sure why I'm there.  Another thing, I'm not automatically their Mom on Facebook, they actually have to confirm that we are related. 

If all of this isn't bad enough, you have to learn the right words for everything, I'm embarrased by how many times Lizzy has had to correct me.  I told her about something that occurred on TWEETER, she said "It's TWITTER MOM", then I asked her about something on EEEETSY, she said "it's Etsy MOM".  But the worst part has to be the Friendship Request - I've been reduce to a 7th grader, trying to figure out why someone hasn't accepted my friendship request, all I can think is...

• "did they get my request?"
• "do you think they've received it yet?"
• "maybe they got it, but maybe they don't like me"
• "why don't they like me?  I thought we were friends"
• "OMG if they accept _________'s request, but not mine, I'm just gonna die"

I wouldn't mind looking like I did in the 7th grade, but to think like I did in the 7th grader is a little much. 

Oh well, I wonder what the next online social networking thing will be?  I can't even imagine...much less keep up.

 Cherri

Comments

[Andee in AZ]

Cheri,
LOL on the post..made me smile. I will be your friend already for sure! Look me up on facebook AzAndee@cox.net and you should find me. Smile, can't wait to write on your wall!

[Joyce]

Cherri, my daughter wasn't so polite. I was told not to add any of her friends to my friend list. ggg I'll be your friend on facebook, let me know if like me, ggggggg

[Cherri House]

You guys are great!

Thanks,

Cherri

[Nadine]

Cherri, just found your blog via Quilt News, and I'm cracking up here, because for the past 6 days, I've been doing the facebook thing too! My thoughts are a little different though: I wonder if all the people sending ME friend requests even know who I am, considering that they're from my high school days and back then, I used two different names than I use now (a nickname, and my maiden name of course) and I look nothing like the same person at all! It's too funny really.

And yes, my kids (a but younger than yours at 12 & almost 17) seem almost offended that I'm on facebook. I guess they just think it's too weird.

"Have quilters taken over facebook?" I LOVE that! ROFL! I'm off to explore the rest of your blog!

[Abby]

Welcome to the FB insanity! At first, I just gave my mom my password so she could spy on my sister and all my friends, but she AND my dad caved and got an identity of their own that they share. FB is spreading to other generations!

[pam]

I totally know where you're coming from. My daughter wanted me off as well and she doesn't even have a facebook. I'm surprised at all the older fb people there are, and the quilty people. I hope blogging doesn't go by the wayside. FB is kind of hard to figure out.

[j. caroline]

Check out this Time Magazine article from Feb. 12: http://bit.ly/C9Vx
Your girls are wrong- you totally belong on Facebook. They are the ones that aren't cool anymore!

[MaryBeth]

It is totally addicting. I read the Time article and agree 100%.

[emma]

I work in the Young Adult room of the library and have to at least have a familiarity with all these new technologies. But I am constantly joining and cancelling my accounts.
It IS very hard to juggle everything!
But I also find many of them repetitious. That is, being on Facebook is kind of like having a mini-blog and email rolled into one. But I already have a blog and two email accounts. And I'm not that ionterested in A)knowing what that kid from high school is doing, or B)revealing so much about myself to strangers (or work coleagues). I do twitter, but not from my phone because the tweets were driving me crazy.
I think that just because the technoloy is there, doesn't mean we are required to use it.

[Teresa]

Its all so funny. I somehow got a face book account but nothing is on there. Every now and then I get an invitation to be someone's friend, or that they want to be my friend and I just delete it. Its not that I don't want to be friendly, I just don't have a clue what they are talking about. Sometimes I get an email that my daughter has written on my wall...and I don't even know how to look it up. I think I will just stick to blogging.

[BJ Lantz]

You know, I have decided that I don't have to keep up with every darned thing out there. I'll admit, when email started up years ago, I thought, No way do I need or want that. Now I cannot live without it. When everybody started doing blogs I thought, No way, I do not need that nor want it. I now have one, but could likely live without. But it is a handy place to post items for friends to see. However, I still feel like Facebook is one of those things I can and plan to live without. What creative person needs one more time-suck taking them away from creating???

[Diane]

Oh J.Caroline beat me to it! I love the Time article. It is very true, Facebook is for those of us well out of High School. :)

[BJ Lantz]

Ok ~ I have to update my comment! Captain Hubby came home last night and shocked me by saying that he "has" to join Facebook. I said, "huh?" He received a barrage of emails yesterday from former high school classmates (one succeeded in finding him last week and apparently told everyone they knew). So he spent half the evening trying without success to confirm links they'd sent him. He's a smart tech guy, so I am sure he'll figure it out. Me ~ I'm still not interested :-) BUT, that Time article link above was hilarious - thanks for sharing!