Facebook Parenting

I must be getting older. Everywhere I look, I see parents who seem closer to my age than my parents', or my parents' age when they had me, for that matter. It weirds me out. It doesn't really surprise me though-- kids in my middle school were getting pregnant at 14 -- but I can't stop wondering how parenting in this era of constant social networking is going to effect the child rearing process.

Facebook has really changed it all. Maybe it's actually the source of my weirding out. Status updates and pictures have made the reality of young, early 20-somethings with babies very hard to deny, avoid, or ignore. Everytime I log in, the evidence of the youthful procreation of my peers is pushed in my face. Not that it's really that bad yet. The pictures are often cute, and the status updates aren't as cheesy or annoying as they apparently can be.

STFU, Parents has provided concrete evidence, however, that parenting in the Facebook generation can really be much more annoying than I'll hopefully ever have to know. I've personally yet to see updates about someone's kid's genitalia, the consistency of some tike's feces, or pictures of someone's youngster dropping a douce while playing the recorder, and for this, I'm thankful. There is, however, certainly still time for these developments to take place. I have a feeling that as my Facebook friends' obsessions shift increasingly away from themselves and toward their offspring, I'll start seeing more "too much information" updates or pictures. This is in itself a little bit weird for me, as I've always forseen a time when I would "outgrow" Facebook and get rid of my page, not simply adapt to the ever changing reality of my real life by sharing it with my digital friend circle. Oh well, to each their own.

An alternative way of thinking here might actually just encourage the parents to get their kids a Facebook page before they are born -- hell, get them a gmail account too, because we all know the good names are going fast. Not only could this serve the preliminary purpose of updating the world on any pregnancy developments, but after the baby is born, you could use the page to write cute things on mommy and daddy's walls, as if you were the baby! Wow, how clever. As the kid grows up, the parents can encourage their toddler to make "real friends" by Facebooking their playground acquaintances. This will ensure a seemless transition into the world of awkwardly friending random parents, posting incriminating pictures from an applejuice rager after nap time, and having a discussion with little Kimmy on whether they're ready to make their "holding hands" relationship "Facebook official." The future is looking bright for the next generation.

Democratic Assasination?

Over the weekend, someone apparently used a 3rd party Facebook application to publish a poll begging the rather unaskable question; "should obama be killed?" So, it took a few days to gain some traction, someone on Twitter brought it to the attention of some blogger who brought it to the attention of the Secret Service, then the major news outlets caught wind, and in the end, after a few days, it was pulled -- after over 750 people voted on it.

Wow. Perhaps the most frightening feature of this poll, which can be seen here, is the answer selection given by the pollster, probably a youngster with little knowledge of capital letters living in a home perpetually tuned in to Fox News and Conservative talk radio. The answer, "if he cuts my health care," is just the latest proof of the volatility that the far-right has injected into this dispute. The far-right's fringe arguments, however -- the impending imposition of "death panels," government oversight meaning the complete obliteration of private insurance and a loss of healthcare for the middle-class, etc. -- seem to be making a rapid transit into the mainstream Conservative debate. When Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, and Rush Limbaugh's crazy talk becomes commonly repeated by people much closer and much more moderate than the extreme Conservatives that I have witnessed only in faceless YouTube comments, not only do I get scared, but we, as a society, rapidly lose the ability to have thoughtful discourse on anything, healthcare or otherwise. Once that goes out the window, it's only a matter of time before people actually think ridiculous things, like killing the president is the best way to make sure he doesn't take away their healthcare. Oh, wait...

How to fix Facebook

My favorite online publication, Slate Magazine, has posted an article that suggests four ways that Facebook could be improved. As usual, they're so right that it hurts.

Read up here.