Yes, I’m putting my little cousins and other family members on blast today. I begrudingly accepted their friend requests but didn’t pay them any attention at first.
Then I saw the status update about my niece’s new boyfriend. Um, what?
Then my cousin changed his profile picture to a shirtless photo. Come again?
Then my other little cousin is commenting on girls photos, telling them they look hot.
All three of these family members are under 15.
And don’t get me started on the teen/tween speak. How is it better/easier/cooler to spell “daii” instead of “day” or “uu” instead of “you”?
I tell them with the quickness, “Hey, go put a shirt on!” or “Tell me about this boyfriend,” or “Cut it out, knucklehead.”
I’m trying to walk that fine line between being the cool cousin/aunt and the one who will tear them a new one for acting up – online or otherwise. I don’t want them to block me, or tune me out because I’m fussing at them all the time. Because online, they’re either being their true selves or some exaggerated version in order to seem cool.
Don’t get me wrong – I remember what it’s like to be a teen. I’m only 10 or so years older than my younger family members, so I feel I can talk to them with the “Been there, done that” attitude and they know the “been there” wasn’t too long ago.
One thing’s for sure: I’m so glad Facebook and all these other sites didn’t exist when I was younger, because I sure would have made a fool out of myself. I remember how “in love” I was with my high school boyfriend and I’m glad the only evidence of that foolish love affair exists solely in my mind.
I’m about to take my niece by the hand and say, “Sweetie, you maintain a 4.0 GPA. You’re too smart for all that dumbed down talk. You’re brilliant – act like it.”
I’m about to pull my nephew to the side and let him know that flashing his pecs in his Facebook profile picture is unnecessary. Girls need to appreciate him more for his brains and gentlemanly demeanor than his six-pack.
I’m about to tell my other nephew that there are more appropriate ways to let a girl know you like her, and oogling her cleavage online is not one of them.
So far, I have noticed that they tone it down after I get after them. While I am not their parent, I do have their best interests at heart and I hope they know I’m coming from a place of love.
Have you noticed your younger siblings/cousins/nieces/nephews behavior on Facebook and other social media sites sometimes border on being inappropriate? How do you handle it?