Yes, my parents are on social media. Yes, it is at times really embarrassing, such as when my mom attempts shorthand in her Instagram captions, and it goes oh so horribly wrong. Or when my dad squints over his glasses trying to make sense of the mysterious, “unintelligible” world of Facebook while I sit next to him, head in my hands, trying to explain the concept of pokes and news feeds.
I hear many people, myself included, laugh at their parents or complain about their parents’ social media use.
If someone’s parents care enough to try to enter the social media dialogue, I say: Welcome them with open arms. The generational divide between our parents and us is substantial, largely because of the Internet takeover. We have learned how to communicate in completely newer ways than our parents, and they deserve a learning curb.
Most people don’t get to know their parents until they are older, and social media allows us to share more of our day-to-day events, personal interests and with whom we choose to spend our time with than other means of communication. Social media has proven to help me connect with my parents and get to know them better than I would with my phone call home every week.
Parents join the social media dialogue because they care—no one should ever be embarrassed for having parents that care enough to sign up on unfamiliar apps and sites just to keep up with what their kids are doing.
A parent on social media is much more than an attempt to “be cool” and assimilate into a younger culture; it’s them trying to connect with their children.
Having a parent on social media benefits you so much more than just forming a social connection with your parent.
For example, having my parents on social media makes me filter how I present myself on social media sites. This is something I am grateful for—I don’t have photos from my past coming back to haunt me while looking for jobs or meeting new people.
Children are entering the social media world at increasingly younger ages. Young kids who cannot discern the dangers of the Internet need to have some semblance of supervision on these sites. Also, older teenagers and young adults might be presenting signs of emotional distress or life crisis on social media. Parents can be much more in the loop of internal struggles by following their children on social media. Keeping up with kids, no matter what the age of the child, is simply good parenting.
There will be many times in the future where my parents will continue to embarrass me, on social media and in life, but this is truly just another rite of passage.
Next time my mom shows our waiter something I posted on Instagram to get help assessing how “drunk I look,” I’m just going to laugh and appreciate the love behind these often embarrassing acts; I encourage you to do the same.
