When Mom or Dad Asks To Be a Facebook 'Friend'

When Mom or Dad Asks To Be a Facebook 'Friend'

"Don't get me wrong," said Yeamans, who is a computer information systems major. "I love my parents, but there are some parts of my college experience that I want to keep to myself."

Then why post it on the internet?

Lily Goldberg, 17, a junior at Gaithersburg High School in Montgomery County, said having parents on Facebook just seems weird.

My parents don't have Facebook, and my sister squealed when my mum suggested she might get one (although it would probably last about as long as her interest in Skype and MSN did). What my sister didn't know, is that I sometimes showed pictures of her to my mum, because while my mum doesn't have Facebook, I do. And right-clicking and saving an image to email to my mum to show my sister looking a little worse for wear on new years eve was very easy, and very fun. And that's why you don't post pictures on the internet if you don't want them spread around.

For Taylor Janney, the choice to friend or not to friend her mom, Karen, was not an option when she got her Facebook account a year ago. It was the only way the 15-year-old was allowed to be online.

And that's how it should be. The EU don't need to spend £42 million to keep people informed. Parent's need to be aware of what their children are posting online, and being a "friend" on facebook is an easy (and free) way to do that. Although...

Still, just when parents think they've cracked the code, one note of caution: Being "on" doesn't necessarily mean you're "in."

Students say a little fiddling with the privacy controls, and those pictures from Saturday night? Never existed.

Unless you have me for a sister...