Facebook Frenzy

These days, the Facebook Initiation looms over just about any middle schooler’s head. New students are ‘friended’ by the second day of class, friends met through summer camp are ‘added’ immediately after they return home; and friends introduce other friends to more friends through the far reaching hold of Facebook.

 I was assimilated into the craze back in ’07 when I entered a new middle school. As I neared a couple hundred friends in a few weeks, Facebook’s widespread grasp on my peers (and myself) was apparent. Pictures from “hang outs” and birthday parties were uploaded and ‘tagged’ that night for others to view and comment on. The inside jokes and memorable moments of the day were made personal statuses followed by a chain of other friends’ names who also in on the joke. Forgotten homework assignments were inquired about on other students’ ‘Walls’. Said Walls were seemingly preferred over Instant Messaging as friends chatted and posted messages in one minute intervals on each other’s pages. (I soon came to find out that the more posts on your Wall, the cooler you seemed). After a month of Facebook, I could hardly imagine my thirteen year old "social life" before I got an account.  

Whether your child wants to join or has already made a Facebook page, an article from the Los Angeles Times gives parents advice on how to deal with your child’s Facebook aspirations. Though Facebook is indeed blocked by the Chinese government, your child will know better than you that there are various online proxies or VPNs allowing thousands of middle schoolers in China access the Holy Grail of their social life. Editor in chief of Common Sense Media, national child-advocacy and education organization, Liz Perle says, “This [Facebook] is part of parenting today.”
 
Though I admit my early Facebook endeavors were borderline frenetic, my friends and I were able to stay away from some of the more serious concerns of social networking sites. Even through our more-friends-is-cooler mindset, we were all aware of the basic tips like making your Facebook account private and deferring completely unknown friend requests.

 
In any case, take a look at the article linked above to read about how some moms have integrated themselves into their children’s Facebook life.
 
Photo by Franco Bouly of Flickr.