After watching the satirical news video (below), I got to thinking about something. The something is, none of my kids have a Facebook (FB) account. My oldest are 16-year-old twins. Neither has been offered, and neither has asked for a FB account. My youngest two, 13 and 12, are too young to meet FB age-requirements.
Now, age requirements don't seem to slow many folks down. Many of my friends have kids as young as third grade who have their own FB account. That bugs me a bit, because that means they had to lie about their kids' age to set up the account, and the kids had to know their parents lied (kids are not stupid). What does that teach our kids about integrity? We can tell them all day that lying is wrong, but then we turn around and lie for personal convenience, and they see us do it. Which lesson do we really think they are learning?
I may sound like a bit of a hypocrit since I have a FB account. I log in about twice a week to see what's been happening. I also occasionally will sit with FB open in my laptop during a sports event (like the Superbowl) and chat (if you can call it that) with friends in far-away places about the game.
But there are two differences between me and my kids. The obvious one is age: I have life experiences that will hopefully make me wary of some of the dangers inherent in an environment like FB. The second one is age: I didn't lie about it to get my account.
Frankly, I'm glad my kids don't have a FB account. I'm sure they will eventually get one, as the oldest are just two years from leaving home. But by then, if I've done my job as a dad, they'll also be wary of the dangers of that environment.
Am I wrong on this? If you think I'm some kind of fundamentalist nutcase, let me know. That's what the comments are for.
Oh, that's funny, Doc! I didn't even join FB until I started blogging. I can see its benefits, but I totally agree with you. My 12-yr-old begs me for an account because all of her friends have one. I am not going to allow it anytime in the near future. As I see it, many adults on there are not wise and discerning enough to have accounts, why would I trust a young teenager's judgement? But the best part is that her friends are all still young and innocent enough to just be concerned w/racking up as many FB friends as they can. So, they request me to be their friend....absolutely, yes I will, and you better believe I am keeping track of your comments!
ReplyDelete