"Congratulations your parents joined Facebook. Your life is officially over..."

So a popular topic that I have talked about frequently on this blog and throughout my writing class is the beloved union of parents and Facebook. The topic never ceases to evoke laughter, cause controversy and create awkward situations. So I just cannot let it go.

I am writing to introduce my new favorite website. It is called "Oh Crap. My Parents Joined Facebook." The site is a blog created by two young women whose parents apparently joined Facebook and when they realized they were not alone, they created a place where all the disgruntled and horrified kids can rant and expose the embarrassing things their older relatives have done on Facebook. Each post comes complete with a web shot that documents the horrific occurrence of parental embarrassment. Posts range from strange profile info, humiliating status updates, awkward private messages and a multitude of other instances of parents trying to be "hip" on the website and miserably failing. At first you kind of feel bad for the parents featured on the site- they are just trying to be cool and fit in, we should not make fun! But then again, if you are willing to put it on cyber space, that is motive enough for others to use it for their comedic pleasure.
Well, we all knew that parents and older relatives on Facebook was a source for potential conflict. But who knew it could be so funny!

Here’s a personal favorite:







P.S.: Something I have been meaning to mention: in class a few weeks ago, my professor explained how he avoids Facebook interaction with his students due to what he called the “creepy tree house effect.” I thought the phrase was absolutely brilliant. He explained professor-student interaction on Facebook as if Facebook was like a tree house you had in your backyard. The tree house is that special, exclusive place where you go with your friends to kick-back and relax and do “kid stuff.” Well imagine your Uncle Jim decided to climb up one day while you and your friends where hanging out in the tree house, just to join in on the “hang.” Boom- suddenly way awkward. The creepy tree house effect explained. Thanks Coach.

Look at me, look at me...

I was forwarded this image a while ago by my mother and it has resonated with me ever since. The image is absolutely brilliant- a no excuses, non sugar-coated representation of the core of social networking.

Now when I first saw this Venn diagram I could not help but laugh; these entities are exactly what each of these communities promotes. But sadly, as much as I would like to deny it, I also felt a little personally guilty by this image. I DO use Facebook and Twitter religiously every day. Heck, I even decided to dedicate my blog to these sites as I feel that they have such an effect and presence on my day to day life as a college student. Am I one of the narcissistic, ADHD-plagued stalkers that I like to poke fun of and laugh at?

That is a sobering thought and I am not going be in denial. I am a part of my generation; I use Facebook to post the highlights of my life for all others to see and take the time to view the highlights of others that are broadcast across the site for my viewing pleasure. I check Twitter on my iPhone via Tweetie multiple times a day, just to see what fun things people are doing. I may not Tweet every day myself, but I do check the Tweets of others.

I recently had a conversation with my mother regarding Twitter. I was attempting to explain to her the phenomenon and why people are so intrigued and obsessed with it; more importantly, I want to convince her as to why I thought she should jump on the band wagon. I figured the best way to get her to join Twitter was to tell her about all the awesome, positive things that can come out of a simple Tweet. As I explained to her how famous professors, politicians, research experts and even actors use Twitter for great reasons, i.e. sharing worthwhile news articles, spreading awareness, promoting causes, etc., I realized a sobering fact: my peers and I do not use Twitter in these same great ways.

I thought back to my friends recent Tweets: “At the beach with @soandso and @blahblah. Party On!” and “Wow, work is so boring. Can’t wait to get back home and then go out! Who’s up for hitting up Bar X?” All my friends Tweets were statements regarding what they were doing, what they did, or what they planned to do. Everything circled around them; it is all about me, me, me! I looked at my Tweets: although they were not as blatantly status updates, they more or less did the same thing. Why do we feel that anyone else would even care to have updates of what we were doing every two hours in the day? What makes us as individuals so interesting or important?

Bleh. There really is no way of getting around it: the Tweets by me and my peers are fueled by narcissism. But yet I still like to check my Twitter to see what people are up to even when I know how pathetic it is…what is wrong with me?
There HAS to be more to Twitter…

TO BE CONTINUED