Parents worry about Facebook taking over the lives of their kids. Aren’t we constantly trying to warn them about the dangers?

If by any chance our house gets broken into while we are on holidays, it is probably because they mentioned our trip on FB. (As if thieves didn’t know when people were on holidays before the FB-era). Whatever you post on FB can be used against you. (What? A bunch of teenage girls goofing in front of a camera?)  Your FB can be hacked and someone can put nasty things on your wall. And what about your privacy?!!??

What’s the use of Facebook anyway? What’s the fun of making public (at least to your friends) that you are sitting by the pool, that you don’t feel like studying for your exam, that you just had a delicious meal? Who cares? Don’t you have better things to do?

I must admit that, although no longer a teenager, me too I am on Facebook. Maybe as fanatic as those kids. Maybe worse. I enjoy looking at my friends wall and see what they have been up to. One is traveling, one is stuck at home with a sick child, another one had a lousy week at work. No world breaking news is spread through this medium, but it is fun! I have never felt so close to friends living at the other side of the world then with FB. The important things you tell over the phone. In the long run, it’s the daily life of your friends you feel like you are missing out on.

I am quite concerned about my privacy, but well, I am from the old generation. I don’t write “everything”, and I am very picky when it comes to accepting new friends. My FB friends are actually my real friends. The teenagers aren’t bothered with it, and in a way, that shocks us, oldies. They have hundreds of friends, sometimes more. My son has hacked his little cousin’s FB several times, they both laughed their heart out. Until I, the boring aunt, couldn’t take it anymore and told him to change his password and not tell anyone. My daughter got hacked too, and she too thought it was really funny.

So I asked them. What does the word ‘privacy’ mean to you? And they told me that none of things they write on FB is ‘private’. Private to them is like going to the bathroom. That they don’t mention on FB.

Really? Half of young people not upset by hacking of their Facebook and E-mail accounts