The fossil evolves

Every day, no scratch that, every hour, no it happens more quickly than that. The world is in a constant state of change. Every day we learn about some new advances in science, medicine or technology. Keeping up is difficult, and after a while it can all be overwhelming.

Like my parents before me, I have done what is necessary to keep up on technology, especially when it comes to the social aspect of technology: I have recruited my children.

Yes, I can freely and openly admit it. I am on Facebook.

Okay, before you start judging me, hear me out. The birth of granddaughter Persephone and departure of youngest daughter Madison for college the same day, two watershed moments in our family, created a need to be able to keep in touch with what is going on with the children (and grandchildren).

Enter Facebook, the social networking website. My daughters and son-in-law are members, and there are photos and video clips of Sephie on proud mom and dad's pages. So, at one place, I can see what's going on with the lives of my children and see the new photos of the granddaughter. All good.

When I began the process of filling out the online forms required for membership in the Facebook community, I began having second thoughts about the whole thing. Marital status: Single, Married -- It's Complicated? Huh?! Then I remembered that it is the Internet, and these sites are for people that are much younger than me. For the record, I selected married, added my wife (who has even agreed publicly that she is married to me -- if you don't believe me, check out her Facebook page) added my children and some basic information about myself.

My children even accepted me as friends. How awesome is that!

The whole social networking scene is more than a little reminiscent of school years. If I ask you to be my friend, will you accept or reject me? One of the other main uses of Facebook is a way to find people you went to school or worked with and get back in touch. More school pressure, more flashbacks to people you liked and those you weren't so enamored with then.

So what's a fossil to do?

I have chosen to play it safe and have only sought out and been accepted my family and friends. It's working pretty well for me.

I can see how Facebook can become addictive. If you are online frequently, it is very tempting to log in and see what's been posted. If you are the same generation as my children, who I lovingly refer to as the most self-absorbed generation ever, Facebook can serve as a place to post your most intimate thoughts, a digital diary of sorts. One small catch: others can read them.

Technology always progresses faster than our capability to keep up as a society. Social networking is a prime example. The pages created by young people, as well as the images contained, stay floating around for years, waiting to be discovered by a future employer or spouse.

I have to be honest, as a 48 year-old, I feel more than a little ancient in this brave new world. I am grateful to be able to see images of my granddaughter and learn what is going on with my children. But I guess it's just the parent in me that sees how this can go from being a tool that can be used for good to something that could be really creepy.

Social networking sites can be a great way to connect with people that want to be connected. Am I looking for friends? Nope. I'm there to get a granddaughter fix. Last night, a got to see a great video of Sephie and her dad.

Seeing what's going on with other people I know is an added bonus.

As always, I welcome your comments. You can reach me by email at tstangl@lemarscomm.net, telephone 712-546-7031, x40 or toll free 1-800-728-0066 x40.

Thanks for reading, I'll keep in touch. Feel free to do the same.