My Mother-in-Law “Friended” me on Facebook
May 23rd, 2008At first I thought it must be spam… “[name withheld to protect the innocent] added you as a friend on Facebook.” Then I thought there was someone out there who maybe had the same name. Nope. That’s her.
Now let me say that I love my MIL. She is one of the most wonderful people I know – a great mom, a fantastic grandma and an accomplished actress. But she is occasionally technology-challenged. So for her to have found me on Facebook was both impressive and terrifying at the same time.
Then I started thinking should I just ignore it? Or should I accept her invitation? How did she find me? Does she have a MySpace page too – ugh. Do I really want her to know my Stripper Name? (Its Heidi Overhoney BTW) Do I want to know hers? Um, no.
But I would like her to see the photos I’ve posted of her grandchildren – that way I don’t have to do it again on the Kodak site. And its great for her to have all my contact info, see what I’m up to, and stay in touch without really staying here. It made me realize what a great tool Facebook can be and how quickly this social networking phenomena has evolved.
When you’re finding common threads between 60-year-old family members and kids just barely out of college – that’s pretty powerful. Its not only putting us in touch with people sharing similar interests whom we may not know yet, but also facilitating new connections with people we supposedly know really well. Its enabling me to offer up another side of who I am and in return find out a little bit more about her. That’s pretty cool.
So should I accept her request? Would you?
2 Responses to “My Mother-in-Law “Friended” me on Facebook”
By Natalie O'Rourke on May 23, 2008 | Reply
I must commend your mother-in-law for the sheer fact of joining facebook. When I mention the word Facebook, my mother asks in confusion “that chat thing?” refering to IM. (Oh lord) Accept her invite and give her a high five for being hip and in the “Now”
By Jamie Streib on May 27, 2008 | Reply
You kind of have to. She knows you got the invite, you know you got the invite and it will just be awkward later when someone mentions Facebook and she gives you the devil eyes. At least she likes you well enough to be your friend in life and on Facebook, which is more than many daughters-in-law could hope for.