Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Blurred Lines

I enjoy social media, I do.  I use it for what it is named - socializing, talking with people I'm not able to see in person, making friends, keeping up with far flung family.  I love being able to stay connected this way.

But I have a problem with social media seemingly becoming a requirement in life.  Specifically, Facebook.

"Mommy, my PE teacher says you need to take 3 pictures of me eating healthy meals.  You're supposed to post them on Facebook."

I get that Facebook is a great tool for sharing information, but this feels like the lines are getting blurred.  We all have different sides to us - the work version, the parent version (perhaps), the parent-of-school-kids version (also perhaps, just for example), the friend version, the private version, and we don't always want these to mix (how many of us really want our bosses checking our posts, really and truly?).  Also, there is no law that says I have to have a Facebook account, much less use it to help my kids submit homework.  I don't have to have one.  And even though I do, I want to keep my use of social media for social purposes.

Perhaps that's a naive vision, given the way society is moving.  But I just think it's a dangerous game and an extremely fine line.  Some years ago, Sammy's teacher and I developed a personal friendship that came back to hurt me when we disagreed over his treatment in class, and that was without internet intervention.  I try to keep the parent teacher relationship in a bubble now, at least until the teacher isn't my child's teacher any more (them all bets are off, as some of these people are so awesome and I really do connect with them).  So I hesitate to open a door to another part of my life to people with whom I basically have a business relationship (albeit a friendly one).

I feel as though I'm not expressing myself very well and perhaps I'll upset someone reading this, but that's not my intention.  It's not that I have anything to hide (because if I did, I certainly wouldn't be posting it for the world to find).  I'm just not comfortable with boundaries getting so distorted. 

I'll take those pictures, but they'll be printed out and sent to school the old fashioned way.

2 comments:

  1. Nope, I get it. My kids aren't on social media, and what I choose to share will be at my my discretion and not at my children's teacher's.

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  2. Yeah, that's weird. Plus, I'd actually have a problem with my teacher trying to teach my kids what is healthy. Some foods that pass for healthy these days aren't (in my opinion) and may differ from a teacher's opinion, who is not a trained nutritionist. Plus with allergies, what may be healthy for one kid could be deadly for another. But I digress... as that wasn't even the point of your post. I totally agree the teacher shouldn't be using your FB account to have your child submit homework. I know a lot of people who make an effort to not post any pics of their kids for safety. (obviously, I am not such a person... but they do exist!)

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