Most of you visiting my blog probably think I am amazing and can do no wrong.
I suppose I am. But occasionally I make mistakes. Some come from love and overenthusiasm. Like watering my cacti to their early grave. Some mistakes happen because I don’t think before I speak. Like telling my friend the other day while waiting for Yoga class to begin that I cannot believe there are people out there who pay a hundred bucks for yoga pants from a certain famous brand. Only to realize the other 7 ladies were wearing them. And then I was the only one who lost balance during a posture, proving that wearing lemon pants helps being a better tree.
There are times though that I am asked to do something and I know it is a bad idea. I struggle with it. Toss and turn at night and eat a pint of ice cream to help me clear my mind. But ultimately my conscience tells me to just do it. No, I am not talking about bake sale, that I would say no to easily. I am talking about Facebook.
You see I have a younger cousin. My family is near extinct and a few cousins back home is all I have. We are close enough to know each other’s birthdays without Facebook reminders and joke about the days gone by at family reunions, but we are not like brothers and sisters. Now my youngest cousin is a teen. What can I say, my aunt was hit by a baby bug as her nest emptied. He is a lovely, bright young boy and the last time I saw him he was visiting us for a few weeks in the summer and he was everything I hopped my son to be when he is 10.
Then a year later he send me a request to be my friend on Facebook. I will not preach about how you are suppose to be 16 and over to join social media and all that. But I did feel awkward about having such a young kid read my feed. The last thing I wanted was to worry about my statements being politically correct and censor my complaints to be G rated ( cause you just cannot talk about parking in Walmart and be suitable for all audiences, can you?) .
But blood is thicker then water and who am I to cut my family ties. So I clicked confirmed. And in the past few years I have learned to live with the fact I am related to a Justin Bieber lookalike who has thousand of friends, changes relationship statues daily and thinks that spelling is a suggestion not a rule.
Am I bitter that his requests to ‘like this status and I will tell you what color are my socks’ dominate my feed? Sure. Am I ashamed that I know more trivia about him then his parents? YES!
But you know what is the worst thing ever? His post the other day used a word that would be bleeped out in a R rated movie! I had to wash out my eyeballs with bleach and I have been a nervous reck ever since, upping my ice cream intake to two pints!
So I am hear to tell you: whatever you do, please do not accept friend requests from 16 and under’s. Because it seems that perfectly normal kids, straight A students wearing matching socks, that live among us turn into some bizarre alter ego young adults in the parallel universe called Facebook. And it ain’t pretty!
29 Comments
Twitter: EnjoytheCourse
HAHAHAH! I’m actually friends with a lot of under 16 yo nieces/nephews on FB. I do get a lot of their updates in my feed, though. lol.
Clarinda @ Enjoying recently posted..10 Truths. Or Not.
I thought you were going to write about coffee!
I have found some of my younger relatives or friends-of- a-friend to be difficult as well, but not for the same reasons! They scandalize me!! The whole drugs, guns, cars, easy money, gangs…OK, so they aren’t really involved in it, they’re just playing at it…I hope. I really do not know for sure, but it certainly worries me! I wouldn’t say anything to their parents-unless I knew something really bad WAS going on! Then I would have to, but this seems to be all talk. So I’d just be glad to hear about their socks!!
HIndsight would be so much more helpful if it came just a touch earlier.
I never did understand why parents were friends with their kids on FB. My oldest has an account, and he is not allowed to friend any adults, including me. I can’t trust half of my 12 friends to keep it clean. I keep tabs on him by simply logging onto his page as him.
I’m new and ignorant of many FB capabilities, but can’t you UNfriend him?
christine recently posted..Don’t Pin This
Yes, I could. But isn’t that like the ultimate worst thing to do. I am sure my aunt would never forgive me
Yes, I have found that the language is quite colorful for under 21′s . Then I wonder what do they see in my facebook feed that they really want to know about. Statements like you know you are a mother when going into a restroom alone is like a tropical vacation. Will that change her mind about wanting to be a mom have I scar her for life???
Twitter: mommy_padawan
At least you can block him from reading your own status updates so you can still speak freely about Walmart parking.
Oh no! Haha – I was laughing as I read this one. Facebook is scary enough sometimes without the wild postings of the underage. I think they just feel a little too “free” online
Anna recently posted..Unexpected Beauty and Possibilities
Oh gosh. I am friends with my youngest cousin who is not 20 yet (I think 18, 19?) and last year, she posted a very …. suggestive photo of herself. Probably not thinking it looked suggestive at the time (hello crotch shot!). Fortunately she (or her friends) had the good sense to finally take it down. I wish I could unsee the photo.
Alison recently posted..Sons And Daughters
Twitter: stampingrules
Oh my – I hear this! I’m “friends” with a bunch of nieces and nephews since we’re so far away from our families…and I can’t believe some of the stuff they post. I stopped letting posts from two of them show in my feed at all. I’m planning to hog FB as long as possible from my kiddos…
Wendy Coffman recently posted..Black Friday Holiday Hoopla
Twitter: dkotucker
Haaahaaa….too funny! Just so ya know…I don’t make a very good tree either. Must prefer the corpse or child’s pose. ;P
Jonathan let me friend him when I first started on FB, then he unfriended me because he said I was clogging up his feed. *eyeroll* Didn’t want to be his friend anyways…especially after reading this.
Diane recently posted..Going for an EEG (the Sequel)
Twitter: snapsandbits
Oh I hear you! But my 16yo has moved away from FB. They do mostly texting and IMs now.
Stacie recently posted..Click Click
Twitter: sundayspill
Hee. I used to teach middle school and I’d get requests all the time from my students. NO WAY was I friending them. I have been home with kids now for over three years and occasionally I’ll STILL get requests. Even though there is distance NO WAY am I friending them
Twitter: babspinfrance
I had to unfriend my mom. Sometimes it goes both ways!
Can you just “hide” his feeds.
Twitter: kerstinauer
I keep getting requests from my kids’ friends – no way I’m saying yes to that…
Also – just don’t show his stuff in your newsfeed anymore, then you don’t have to deal with it!
Kerstin recently posted..My life in numbers
Twitter: normalmomally
I have a rule – no Facebook friends under 18. Once they graduate from high school and turn 18, then okay. And I only have one of those so far. Though I did follow both my nieces on Twitter. One is 18, but the other is only 14. Yikes!
Oh no!
Ally recently posted..When Thanks Doesn’t Come Easy
Twitter: twinisms
I friend the relatives who ask, then block them from my feed. Win-win!
Bridget recently posted..Put Your Phone Away
Twitter: runnermomjen
Hahahaha!!! Oh, Stasha…I have to tell you I hate FB sometimes.
Runnermom-jen recently posted..Comfort…
Twitter: bocafrau
Other than relatives I’m not friends with any under 16 crowd. I don’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t need to be friends with my kids friends… it just feels wrong.
Susi recently posted..Meeting Hello Kitty {Wordless Wednesday}
Twitter: MarieMiracles
Oh Stasha, I thought you were going to make a big confession with that huge lead-in. Haha!!
I have been scandalized to see my cousins’ young children on Facebook–at ages as young as 8. I do not allow my kids to get on Facebook until they are old enough. And a few times I’ve had to point out to my 16-year-old son that he is friends with his grandmas, aunts, and pastor, not to mention many others, who might think differently of him if they see his colorful language!!!
Twitter: chosenchaos
I have a niece and nephew both UNDER the age of 16 that have requested me and I have denied them. They don’t need to know my timeline and I don’t want to know theirs. I wouldn’t even let them on my Instagram feed.
Defriend him – he’ll never know!
Jamie recently posted..mr. clean
Twitter: cocalores
I’m not sure if I want to find this hilarious or worrying. I guess back when we were younger we all behaved like that minus facebook, so I have to go for hilarious! =)
Anja recently posted..5 Things I Use Everyday… In A Perfect World!
It could be really hard to be a teenager nowadays, some of them are really some kind of weird…
Kitti recently posted..Esztétikai fogászat ilyen fiatalon
Twitter: ladiesholiday
I am terrified of when my kids turn teen…why? Because I remember keenly myself at that age. Watch out world! Oh and thanks for the advice
Deirdre recently posted..Photo Friday Blog Hop #14 & GIVEAWAY
I tried to set up a FB account and hide it from myself, which I think in the end seemed best. Most friends I know seems tired of it, at least the ones now in the forties.
GBDB recently posted..Friday Fragments
I’m facebook friends with most of the high schoolers I used to tutor… some stuff makes me cringe but then so does a lot of the stuff coming from the adults.
christine@theaums recently posted..Teaching My Child To Ride a Bike
Twitter: otandet
I have been mortified on Facebook by some of Rob’s younger cousins’ statements on their feed. To the point of unfriending them (which I did passively and I’m sure went unnoticed). Yuck. I’m so sorry you’re experiencing this!
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Twitter: krrobi
Oh No!
I have nobody under 20 on my facebook page. Not because of what they might post, but of what I might post!
Xx
My Inner Chick recently posted..886 Days
Twitter: lisacng
So will you unfriend him? I say, use your power for good and keep an eye out for troubling behavior. Perhaps your cousin’s parents will thank you one day when you alerted them of his unusual posting and be able to help him in his need.
lisacng recently posted..Throwback Thursday: Photos and a blog award
I hear you my friend!! I am “friends” on Facebook with most of my step-daughters and some I would rather not be… even the oldest step daughter can post some incredibly distressing images which she does not even see as inappropriate. And another 19 year old step daughter posts what she is doing every half hour or so (and that is NOT an exaggeration) and it isn’t something noble or useful either. She never finished school and does not have a job. For that reason I am on Facebook less. I have also removed her posts from my Home page (you can do that quite easily from your home page).
I hope your Thanksgiving was amazing!!!
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