Mama Says Monday: Facebook

Cynthia Kay and Scarlett

Aleta didn't give me a subject, so I decided to talk about Facebook.

Several years ago, before I got on Facebook, I had no idea of the wonders and frustrations of Facebook, or as my brother-in-law calls it, "The Book of Face."  It all started when Aleta would say "Mama, you should see the picture of Ava, or G and Z, or Emmy, that was posted today."  She would then show me the picture on her phone with it's 2-inch screen.  I always felt like I needed to pull out my magnifying glass to see the picture.  Finally, I decided I needed to be on Facebook so I could see all these pictures on my Nook (at least the picture would be bigger).  I would be able to keep up with my nieces' and nephews' kids, my friends' kids and grandkids and my church family's children.  So...I got Aleta to "set me up."  She even chose my friends...I kept it small.

However, over the years, that "friends list" has grown and I have no idea how some of these people got there.  While Aleta insists that I must have accidentally added them, I think not!!!  Some of them I would never have added in a million years!  At any rate, I have enjoyed keeping up with these kids, seeing the things they are involved in, seeing their Sunday pictures, all dressed up for church.

I see posts of children from our area, but I also get to keep up with some from friends in Texas, Nevada, and North Carolina.  Some of these I have never seen in person, but through Facebook, I can still feel a part of their lives.  On friend moved to Alaska, then to Tennessee.  I only saw her baby once during his first three years, but I saw a lot through her posts and felt a part of their life.  My niece in North Carolina wonders sometimes if she posts too many pictures.  Absolutely not!  Keep them coming!

For this, I love Facebook.  It is a wonderful tool.

Having said that, however, I do have a complaint.  I have to scroll through a lot of junk to get to the pictures of all my "babies."

How did I get on every "buy, sell, and trade" site?  I have to scroll past all the political junk, see who all has signed up for freebie everything, and see what all special products everyone is selling.  I just want to check on my kids!

And then there are the posts that read "I know who my friends are and who will post this for one hour..."  The one I can think of is the "Post this on your wall in honor of someone who has or had cancer."  My family is very familiar with the devastation of cancer.  Just because I don't repost doesn't mean I don't honor those that are affected by this disease.  Just realize that I rarely post or comment on much.

Another thing that I find both fascinating and irritating:  Everyone wants to post "in a relationship."  I tend to think of relationships as long-term, but apparently, a relationship can last only a day or two.  Who knew?

Which brings me to "drama."  I sort of like my uncomplicated life.  What makes you think I want to hear all of your drama?

Lastly, I just want to complain about the "don't scroll without..." post.  This week there was the one that said: "If you love Jesus, type 'Amen.'  If you don't love Jesus, just scroll."  That translated means: "If you want to go to Heaven, type 'Amen.'  If you prefer Hell, just scroll on."  Some posts seem to want to control you with guilt.  I love Jesus, and I just scrolled.  I thank God that my salvation is not dependent on whether I type "Amen" on a Facebook post.

But really, I just want to see my babies!  More babies, less junk!