My Dad recently joined Facebook. “Oh my God,” I moaned. “It’s every child’s nightmare! My Dad just Friended me on Facebook!” I was laughing as I typed that in an email to him, and the minute I clicked Send, I went to Facebook to confirm his Friend request.
He wrote back, “I promise not to be judgmental!” What does the man think I post there, anyway?
“I know you won’t be judgmental. It wouldn’t do you much good if you were.” I’m 46 years old, for Heaven’s sake, and my Dad’s not going to learn any deep, dark secrets about me on Facebook. Except–well, there is that post about eating balut. But he’s largely to blame for my adventurous nature when it comes to trying new foods, so I figure he deserves the glassy-eyed glare from Mad Duck, the Angry Balut.
I Friended him back.
And then gave him a hard time for running around Facebook looking like Dengaku Man. I mean, it’s FACEbook. Come to think of it, isn’t it odd that default avatar on Facebook does not have a face? But it looks just like Dengaku Man (except that Dengaku Man actually has a face, so I’m not sure which one’s more disturbing). Ironically, the man who took the photos I’ve been using as my avatars on Facebook didn’t have a photo of himself to use as his online avatar. He’s a social media n00b.*
Time to remedy that.
My Dad
I had one recent photo that that I think captures the quintessential “Dad” look, raised eyebrow and all. (“But Dad, you promised not to be judgmental!”) Unfortunately, the background was too distracting. So I removed it, using Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2.
It looked really good. Only now, without the distracting background, the raised eyebrow was really making me squirm. I hoped he’d like it.
He did. My Dad’s on Facebook – faceless no more.
So, now, Dengaku Man ? what?s your excuse! Why are you on Facebook with no FACE?
* I have to give him a hard time. He’s also the bad influence who got me interested in computers – despite all my protestations, circa 1970s, that I would “never work with computers! Those are your thing, Dad – they’re borrrrrring.” He got the last laugh, there, so it’s only fitting I should get to call him a “social media n00b.” He’s been programming computers longer than I’ve been alive.
The title of this post was generously suggested by Jimi Jones in 25 Blog Post Titles I?d Like to See You Write.
About the Author Holly Jahangiri
Holly Jahangiri has decades of experience in tech writing, freelancing, fiction, poetry, and editing. Writer, wife, and mother, Holly is the creator of Trockle and instigator of the Puppy-Guppy Rebellion.
- Web |
- More Posts (626)
How funny and fun.
I gave my daughter and a granddaughter heart failure on Facebook with one of my comments on Rene’s page.
.-= Vivian Zabel hopes you will read…Happy Thanksgiving =-.
ROFL @Vivian Zabel, what on EARTH did you say?
@Holly Jahangiri, You know that saying TGIF? Rene had said something about Friday eve, and I wrote “shit – sorry honey it’s Thursday.” They read the first part and didn’t made the connection with the rest.
.-= Vivian Zabel hopes you will read…Happy Thanksgiving =-.
How funny! I will say that I am curious now what the background was before you changed it!
@Melia Benjamin, trust me, it’s much funnier and more entertaining if I let you imagine it.
I think it was the wall of a screened in porch, with a carport and tractor behind it.
Come to think of it, that IS pretty amusing.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Darren Sproat, Roy. Roy said: RT @hollyjahangiri Why are They on Facebook with No Face? http://bit.ly/5ai5c4 [...]
facebook for now… are we going to see a blog from Dad soon?
.-= Roy hopes you will read…One last Christmas wish… =-.
@Roy, that would be fun, wouldn’t it? You never know…
Holly, you posted a great story here, I hope your Dad loves it. A nice enjoyable, lighthearted read. Good job on his photo as well (would never know there was a background).
Thanks for the shout-out and thanks for sharing this story.
.-= Jimi Jones hopes you will read…Understanding Social Media ? Plain and Simple =-.
Twitter: HollyJahangiri
says:
Thank YOU for the title that sparked the idea, @Jimi Jones! I think that’s a fun thing you did – maybe instead of a “white elephant swap” for the holidays, we bloggers should have a “title swap.”
.-= Holly Jahangiri hopes you will read…Why are They on Facebook with No Face? =-.
Well, hello, Mr. Dad.
Since when it’s cool to have family members as friends in one’s social network? It’s tough for me. Makes me uncomfortable having my sister in law, nieces and nephews in Facebook. They don’t even read my blog for crying out loud. Ahahahaha. But I’ve no choice. It’s one of those things…
Your Dad looks okay though. This deserves a sequel, say a month from now?
.-= jan geronimo hopes you will read…Anatomy of My FarmVille Addiction =-.
@jan geronimo, my Dad’s cool. Doesn’t make me uncomfortable in the least to have him as a friend on Facebook. We’ll see – don’t know if I could twist his arm to start a blog. He IS on Twitter, though…so you just never know.
@Vivian Zabel, ROFL!! I’ve always loved that joke. But I can see how it would cause jaws to drop, coming from you!
Awesome picture of your dad. I like the hair (like snow, lol). I wish I had a hair like that one, will make me look, you know s*xy, haha. Cool Dad. maybe I’ll invite him to play the Mafia Wars, think he will accept, lol
.-= DiTesco hopes you will read…Using Google’s AdSense Channels – Video Tutorials #2 =-.
Twitter: HollyJahangiri
says:
Thanks, @DiTesco. I remember when his hair first went white. We were both working at the same company. I was describing him to another colleague, and she said, “Oh, the distinguished looking white haired gentleman?” I said, “No, he’s tall and blond, like me.” She looked at me funny. Next time I saw my dad, I laughed. “OMG, you DO have white hair!!” It was HIS turn to look at me funny. I saw him almost every day, and hadn’t noticed it going from blond to white.
With genes like this, I’m not afraid to go gray (in fact, a few years ago, after playing around with my hair color, I had a stylist professionally dye it to match my roots, so that I could watch it go gray naturally – ironically, it kind of slowed, and STILL isn’t gray). My mom’s mom had beautiful “salt and pepper” hair until it finally turned all white (in her late 80s, as I recall).
.-= Holly Jahangiri hopes you will read…Balut (Rhymes with ?Foot?) =-.
My dad friended me on Facebook a few months back. Since he didn’t [and still does not] have an image. He also texts me, which is about the most we communicate these days. Isn’t technology wonderful!
I, too, was anti-computer, yet I use one constantly. I still don’t like them even if they are handy little gadgets.
.-= Anne hopes you will read…Self Discovery, Epiphanies, & Happiness ~ Part 1 =-.
@Anne, I have frequent “I wanna be Amish!” days. And then I remember things like: reading a book after the sun goes down, or zippers, or cooking with electricity, or…well, it’s close to one of those days, so the list is kind of short.
Nice post Holly! I like your Dad doing that social media thingy
But beware, he might get addicted to FarmVille, LOL!
@MinnieRunner, that could be tragic!! No, surely not…he wouldn’t…would he?
Our parents are catching up and mostly for the fun of it. Well, that’s what my parents thought when they started facebook. My mom is 54 and my dad is 52 and they both have their own accounts. Needless to say that they love playing the games there, it sure pass the time quickly.
Maybe our parents can be friends there too. he he he.
What’s next? I am thinking of teaching my parents to blog…
Z
.-= Zorlone hopes you will read…The Guardian of the Forest (Part 5) =-.
@Zorlone, you make me feel so old, some days. That would be fun. I have a friend who’s about halfway between my age and my parents’ age. We were all sitting on the back porch one night, and I went in to get us more coffee. When I came out, they were sharing tales about my childhood. I looked at my friend, grinning at me, and at my Mom, and wailed, “But Moooooom, she’s MY friend!” (I was just being silly. I was glad they were all getting along so well. But it WAS funny.)
[...] Z was first to guess correctly. My dad, of course, got it right – but oddly enough, only through the process of elimination: [...]
[...] the one with the slight smile and a raised eyebrow that speaks volumes?) and you can see it in? Why are They on Facebook with No Face? I totally stole this title from Jimi Jones‘ list of 25 Blog Post Titles I?d Like to See You [...]