Facebook for Fiftysomethings | Teen Ink

Facebook for Fiftysomethings

January 6, 2010
By ME!!! SILVER, Hartford, Wisconsin
ME!!! SILVER, Hartford, Wisconsin
6 articles 0 photos 0 comments

“Facebook for Fiftysomethings” ,by Emily Yoffe, how she has a Facebook account at an age much older than most people on the site. The author writes about how it was almost impossible to find friends on facebook because most of her friends don’t have a Facebook account because it is a place ruled by the younger generation. She joined, hoping it would help her get away from her unsocial life and stay updated on what is happening to her friends.
This is easy to understand for me. I am also the type that has trouble keeping staying up to date on issues; truthfully though, I usually don’t care. In fact, making my Facebook account was an assignment for my AP Physics class. The teacher used it to send us E-mails about homework and try to connect with us more. The second part didn’t work because few people liked her but she was able to use it for updating the class on assignments.
When I first got my Facebook, there was the initial trouble with finding friends on it. Everyone seemed to have hundreds or even thousands of friends. I couldn’t figure out how one person could be friends with all those people. Your ‘friends’ included: acquaintances, people that you have class with, people on opposing sports teams who you have never met, friends of your friends you have never met, actual friends, and anyone else’s name you know.
The author found out about her college class reunion and found people who had similar interests as she did through Facebook. Many people employ Facebook to reconnect with old school friends and people that they only saw a few times a year. People find themselves spending hours of time on Facebook. Facebook even helped me with my homework. Everyone in my AP Physics class was assigned to have one and it made it effortless to find their phone numbers to ask them questions when we got stuck. It gave me a way to talk to my girlfriend before she was my girlfriend and she ended up giving me her phone number while chatting with me on facebook one night. Facebook actually did do what it was supposed to by helping me stop being somewhat anti-social.

Facebook has become a common tool for anyone under the age of 24 because it started out in colleges and few people who weren’t at college age (when it started) or younger have one – so much so that it has become the topic of research. There have been diverse opinions on how facebook is affecting our lives. Adults are saying that children being so open about their lives will make them vulnerable. They claim cyberperverts lurk the pages, there are even sayings like ‘it’s not stalking, it’s Facebooking.’ This may be true and there are cases where Facebook is used by creepers to meet up with younger kids but this has been happening for years on chat sites and in local neighborhood hangouts. People felt the same way about the telephone. “A joke from 1906 reads “A woman answers a phone and is asked by a suitor if she’ll marry him. “Of course I’ll marry you!” she replies, then adds, “Who is calling, please?””
That is not to say you shouldn’t be careful about what you put on facebook. A girl in our grade who posted an event, one of the applications on facebook, about her birthday party. She openly talked about bringing drinks and had many pictures of her holding hard liquor on her facebook page. Of course, when her party started, the cops showed up and you can guess what happened. This was idiotic. Anyone stupid enough to post pictures and talk about illegal activities on a public networking website is asking for trouble.
After some trouble, the author saw that facebook really did help people become more social and connect with people. This is what many people have discovered. They tell themselves they will never get a Facebook, but are glad when they do. Many people I know no longer spend as much time on it as they once did, the initial magic has worn off, but numerous friends still use it regularly and it’s a great way to see what friends are doing and to see parts of their lives we normally wouldn’t.

The author's comments:
My grandma has a facebook

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