Mom Still Likes Facebook
Friday, March 30, 2012 Last April I posted about my mother's arrival on the Facebook scene, and I'm happy to report that she's come a long way. She even switched to the new Timeline profile—something I have yet to do—without consulting me. She has a grasp of where her comments appear, how to privately message someone (because some things are best said without an audience), and she still loves the "Like" button.
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Mom had a minor Facebook scare last summer. I was visiting she and Dad in Arizona, and bumped into her in their kitchen late one evening. The kids and husbands were in bed, Mom was sitting at her kitchen desk...Facebooking...and I had intentions of grazing on baked goods.
"I need your help," Mom said. "There's something horrible on my page."
"What?" I asked as I walked over to her computer.
"It's too terrible to describe. I don't know why she would put that on my page. You have to get it off. Quick. I don't want people seeing that!"
My mom was panicked.
She pointed to the posted item and grabbed her mouse. I couldn't tell what it was, but told her not to click on the image. "What is it?" I asked.
"It's a big...," then she whispered, "...Virginia." [Real word rhymes with angina, but I want to minimize gross Internet search hits.]
"First, that's not your 'page.' It's your News Feed—only visible to you. Second, I'm sure she [the person associated with the post] didn't purposely post that. It's spam, and we can easily delete it."
I showed her the little "x" and how easy the offensive material was to remove. "No one can your see your News Feed anyway, but it's gone. And as long as you didn't click on it, you didn't share it with anyone else. That's how these things spread."
She looked at me sharply.
"You clicked on it, didn't you," I said.
"Shit. I didn't know what it was."
As far as we know, Mom's Facebook friends didn't receive the Virginia spam, and she understands that the woman who "sent it to her" was a virus victim. Mother also now knows how to delete...many things.
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I enjoy when Mom makes an appearance on my Facebook page. She's become more comfortable letting her virtual hair down, and shares her personality freely.
So she did...
Mom's finding her voice! And...I totally would have noticed.
Reader Comments (4)
I am totally friending your mom . . .
Very funny...my mom facebooks too...so far no Virginia hams that I am aware of. BTW, a bunch of my friends at work are reading your book!
So funny. I totally want to friend your mom too...I actually clicked on her name on that post and lo and behold I could access her whole page -- she might want to adjust her settings? Or not? I have my account set so that only my friends can see my page. Maybe since I'm a 'friend of a friend' (friend of her daughter!) I can see hers? Dunno. Just thought I'd point it out.
You guys are too cute. Sorry I haven't called or anything lately. These kids keep demanding to eat. Three times -- EVERY day. PLUS snacks!
Oh my - that is hilarious. Way to go mom!