Parenting today seems to have change. Growing up, my mother knew how to discipline my two older siblings and me. Damn it worked. Nowadays, I see parents put themselves and their children on the same level, thus making kids feel like they are able to do what they want.
Living in a social media ruled world, the Internet has replaced the television as the primary tool used in this global village. The sad reality of today is that people tend to “Facebook” their problems instead of confronting them in real life.
Take Tommy Jordan for example. Jordan is a father in North Carolina whose daughter is dealing with the loss of her laptop. Jordan shot the laptop nine times with his .45 pistol after seeing his daughter’s post on Facebook, where 15-year-old Hannah complained about the chores she receives and bad mouths her parents.
Obviously shooting the laptop was a bit extreme, but a drastic action is what needs to be executed by parents when their children are not following the pillar of respect.
Before destroying the laptop, Jordan recorded a rant on how Hannah has it easy and harshly warns her “it’s about to get harder.” Jordan concludes the devastating speech with saying that he will post the video on her Facebook page to show what her rebellious behavior got her in to.
If Hannah would have just calmed down, sat with her dad and confronted her problems with him, maybe she’d still have a laptop.
When asked about how they go about posting things on Facebook with their parents as friends, most students at City College said that they do not have a problem when posting things.
Kayla Datte, film and television production major at City College, said that her parents know her and the person she is. Tony Milner went as far to say that his dad is a “G” (meaning that his dad is like a friend to him).
Although parents may be friends with their children on Facebook, privacy settings are a tool that kids can use to censor what their parents can and cannot see.
In my case, my mother has a Facebook page, she isn’t my friend simply because I see her every day and do not see the point in having her as a friend.
When asked about communication with his parents, Eddie Lopez, a Biology major, said that he and his mother are great communicators and are open to what each other has to say. Simply put, they both know their roles in the mother-son relationship.
My mother has made it clear that I am the son and she is the mother and in those roles, she demands respect from me.
Growing up in the 90s, when technology was still trying to find a prominent way to infiltrate our lives, I and those I surrounded myself with, understood quality time the ability for family members to understand each other. Now in 2012, kids find ways to voice their problems without feeling the need to talk with their parents about a situation.
Parents and children do not mesh well in the friend-zone. It may work for some, but not for all. Those parents that do befriend their children have to remember that a stern attitude from time to time will reinforce who demands the respect.
