My dad has 138 Facebook friends. My mom has 96. Needless to say, neither qualify as internet celebrities (at least not yet). But what my parents lack in a social media following, they make up for in know-how. Not the know-how that racks up the likes thanks to the latest memes, but the type of social media savvy that brings “mother knows best” into the 21st century.
Ever since The Parents invaded Facebook, I’ve wondered what they’re doing on there. Parent Stuff, I always figured. But as my mom and dad used the site more and more, little bits and pieces of the other, older side of social media began to appear. And it’s not just my parents who have an affinity for Facebook; according to the Pew Research Center, 64 percent of internet-using 50-64 year olds use Mark Zuckerberg’s multi-billion dollar baby.
So I asked my makers what they do on Facebook.
“I use it to see how friends and family are, the things that they post about their family,” my mom said. “Their back to school pictures now are up, different holiday pictures or things like that mostly. To keep in touch with people I wouldn’t otherwise see, maybe they’re far away or something.”
It’s a pretty common reason for using social media — keeping up with the people in your life — and it also guides the things my parents post: pictures of family gatherings, their children and fun things they do. And while posts such as these are the norm for most Facebook users, my dad believes that being a parent changes social media priorities.
“I think it’s such a huge part of your life when you’re a parent that it’s something you’re going to talk about,” he said. “I also think if a lot of the people you have close relationships with also have kids, it’s part of the conversation as well.”
But when their Facebook friends, whom are also parents, stray from the usual heartwarming collage of familial bonding into the world of Facebook no-nos, the site can lose its fun.
“I think some people are a little bit more political than I am and they post political stuff which I hide,” my mom admitted without hesitation. And while political posts don’t have my mom’s vote, the source of my dad’s Facebook frustration stems from the lifeline of the youth: memes.
“Facebook pet peeve … people who post like tons of viral stuff,” he said with a tone that made me never want to mention my Top 10 Memes of the 2000s again. “It’s OK occasionally, but it gets old. Some people do a lot of it all the time.”
Also on the nope list are selfies (“I don’t do them,” my dad said, deathly serious) and unnecessary digital friendships.
“I only have friends that if I saw you in the store, I would still have a decent conversation with you,” my mom said, though later swore this was not the same as Drake’s “no new friends” policy.
But for all its problems, my parents — and millions of others — plan to keep using Facebook as long as the family pictures outweigh the campaign ads, memes and campaign memes. And if they don’t, my mom could always consider the ‘gram.
“You know, I don’t have an Instagram, and I really kinda thought of getting one,” she said. “Is it all photos of food though? I worry about that.”
