Facebook Dispatches from Gen Y

A few recent Facebook experiences from the realms of parenting:

• Don't Cop My Dress!--My 17 year old daughter's junior prom is about a month away.  Last night I discovered that Facebook now plays a major role in prom planning. Apparently the girls at my daughter's school have a Facebook Group--"Don't Cop My Dress." Girls upload photos of their dresses to ensure that there are no copycat dresses on prom night. Judging from our review of the photos, it's also an opportunity to comment on the poor taste of classmates. Regardless, it's certainly an impetus to find that prom gown early. I sense that things could get ugly if you show up in the same dress.

• Facebook For Parents--The aforementioned daughter was caught this weekend drinking at a friend's house. As my ex and I discussed how to handle the situation, he mentioned that we should start a parent's Facebook group so we could share whether or not we were going to be home during the evening, let people know if we'd heard a party was going on, etc. I have to admit that there's something kind of fun about the idea of using the same tool the kids use to arrange for a party to actually stop it.

Of course, this might also be one of those cases where Twitter would be a better option. I'm picturing sitting at dinner and getting a Tweet from my neighbor informing me that a keg has just arrived at my house.

• "The Facebook"--My 21-year old is taking a new media course at NYU. For this week's assignment, she's looking at generational differences in social media use for which she had to create a video. It's quite amusing to see her perspective on how Boomers and X-ers use social networking. Apparently Boomers see "The Facebook" as something to monitor to protect their offspring while X-ers are finding old classmates and sharing Soundgarden tracks. Let me go on record right now as never meeting a Soundgarden song I liked.

Comments

[Janet Clarey]

"The Facebook." Love it. Disliking Soundgarden? Oh no, say it ain't so!

[Christine Martell]

No Soundgarden? Probably because you really are just a wanna-be X-er who is in denial about really being a boomer :)

[Emma King]

As tech savvy as my 9m old is I don't think I need to join "The Facebook" parenting group just yet. The only thing she'd do with a Keg right now is try and walk around it!

Sharing of Soundgarden track... for the record I have never shared a Soundgarden track, but Pearl Jam or Stone Temple Pilots would be a totally different matter :-)

Good to know that those parents ahead of me are setting up network tho that I can use down the line!

[Michele Martin]

I actually don't share ANY music on "The Facebook." Although it has proven a fascinating place to see what my husband is up to. His status updates are a window into his soul that I hadn't anticipated.

And Christine--You're right--I'm desperately avoiding being a Boomer. At a minimum, I'm Gen Jones, although by several measures I've seen, 1963 is in Gen X. I actually have more in common culturally with Darvin (born in 1973) than I do with my Boomer friends born in the 50's so that's part of my resistance. Regardless, I still don't like Soundgarden. Hopefully Janet will forgive me. :-)

Emma--by the time your daughter is ordering kegs, you'll probably have some kind of brain implant to let you know she's considering it so you can act ahead of time!

[Michelle Lentz]

Michele, this post made me laugh out loud. I'm most definitely a Gen Xer (I remember when that made me young and cool). While I am not a Soundgarden fan, since December, EVERYONE in my high school graduating class has discovered Facebook. It's a little strange.
So thanks for the laugh, and the insight.