I have a Facebook account, but I'm a pretty casual user. I check it a couple of times a week to see what my "friends" are up to. I also use it to send messages to a couple of people who seem to use Facebook instead of an e-mail account. My "friend" list is pretty small. Other than a few family members (including those of my children who have accounts), I have some friends from high school, and a group of women that I've done volunteer work with. There are also a handful of people I knew from organizations I participated in years ago.
I usually don't do the friend requesting, but somehow my list grows by a name or two each month. Last week I got a request to "friend" a person who is friends with one of my sons. Real friends. I've known this young man since they were in Cub Scouts together. It seemed like a strange request, but today I became Facebook friends with someone who is a friend of one of my children.
This isn't the first request I've gotten from one of my children's acquaintances. However, the other times it looked like the people were just trying to accumulate an enormous number of "friends" (can you really be friends with 547 people?), so I ignored their requests. Besides, I don't know if I wanted to be aware of what they were doing on a regular basis.
When I checked the friends of today's requester, however, I saw that in addition to the normal complement of people his age there were also several adults, including his mom. He seemed sincere, so I confirmed the request.
It will be interesting to get all of his updates.
I don't have a Facebook account, but it does sound interesting. Maybe your son's friend likes to have adult input. Let us know how it goes.
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda the opposite - I like to add my friend's parents. The main one I communicate with was our next-door neighbour/my best friend's mum for much of my childhood and tween years. My mum doesn't do the whole internet thing [she can't get anything other than dial-up as she lives in the country]...but I like to have adult input on the internet!
ReplyDeleteI have 63 FB friends. Even with that low number I have to admit that I am not really friends with any of these people in "real life" [except my mum and her stepdaughter - but they don't use their accounts]. The average number of FB friends is 120.
I know what you mean. I have a facebook account to keep up with my children and their children. I have had requests from people I don't know other than meeting them at one of my children's houses. I ignored them, but did accept a couple from the ones I really do know. I don't have time to poke or play silly games that facebook seems to promote.
ReplyDeleteSydney-an average of 120? Really? I guess I'm one of those people bringing it down.
ReplyDeleteKathy--I know what you mean about people who play those games. I have some friends who seem to do a different one (and of course post the result) every day. I'd rather spend my time reading blogs :-0
I put off getting a FAcebook account for a long time because I have my blog and my Flickr account and I do quite a bit with both. I didn't need one more online presence. My friends at church, though, kept after me to join and I found that it was probably going to be the only way to get pictures of my new granddaughter as Jen posts everything on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteI joined and then I waited to see if anyone found me. After one friend found me, the flood gates were open. I know so many young people so I have lots of them as friends because they use Facebook on a regular basis.
I'm like you, Kathy, I wait to be asked rather than going out and asking people to be my friends. It feels so "high school." I still haven't figured out a real purpose for it, but I'm trying some things with the account.
dk, do you have different groups that you allow to see different areas of your profile?
ReplyDeleteI did add a parent of a friend but then I stopped speaking with that friend and it just got awkward after awhile.
ReplyDeleteI also have a new thing having to do with Facebook...come take a look!
I let everyone see everything. I pretty transparent. I am who I am, just like Popeye, and everyone who knows me will say the same thing.
ReplyDelete