Hubs and I were able to take a few hours Saturday evening and hang with some adults. We dearly love our little eggs, but Turner and Owen and Evelyn needed some time away from us. I mean, we can be overbearing at times. What child doesn't want away for a bit?
And boy it sure felt good.
The conversation turned to Facebook and the ups and downs of social networking. Hubs doesn't Facebook, doesn't tweet, isn't LinkedIn. His cousin, whose company we were enjoying, is also of the same mindset. They were both slow to text too, in case you wondered. There were others there who do, though, and we discussed our experiences.
What I realized as the conversation progressed is that I have an extremely solid group of social networking individuals. I rarely get status updates on Facebook that make me cringe. I delete those that frequently post them. My Twitter feed is for lighthearted updates, generally sports, and nothing heavy.
The people I choose to keep on these two networks don't inundate their "friends" and "followers" with LOOK AT ME and MY KIDS ROCK information. They also don't air all their dirty laundry because they know better. It seems so simple to me. Respect privacy.
What is failing to be grasped generally is this - Respect.
- Respect that true friendship is found when those friends understand the struggles you go through to achieve the triumphs you place on Facebook.
- Respect that true friendship is built by people who already know your children are powerful little creatures with loads of potential because they've seen them, met them, talked with them.
- Respect your own privacy and know that whatever demons you and your spouse experience are built especially for you. And more importantly, no one else truly knows what that experience entails.
- Respect your own privacy and those who struggle with you. It could be your friends or family or children.
Judgment is so easy these days. We're given so many tools. Use them respectfully and more importantly, teach others how to as well. We owe it to our friends and children and spouses to set an example but to also spread educated messages about responsible socializing. It's getting out of hand, but it's also a beautiful thing when used properly. Choose wisely.
Extremely well said Jess, I couldn't agree more. My biggest beef with FB is the judgement that comes along with it...I can't count the number of people who have commented along the lines of..."I have no idea how you do it all" or "You must be mother of the year" or "There's not enough hours in the day for me to do all the things you do" and my immediate reaction in my head is "Are these people serious?" Do they think FB is my real life? Because I have news for each of them...FB is a less than 1% glimpse into my "real" life, its the part I CHOOSE to share online. I read once that you cannot compare your life to everyone else's highlight reel you see online, and I think that's the truth. (ok, done with my rant). But other than that, I agree wholeheartedly with you, it is a beautiful thing to connect with people, when done with respect.
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