I came across this interesting piece by the Associated Press...
Web 2.0's Generation Gap
As social networks like Facebook gain a broader base than the colleges and youth demographics they were once limited to, some young users are beginning to chafe at what they see as a "creepy" infiltration of older users on what was once their turf.
Source: Technewsworld.com/Associated Press
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Web-20s-Generation-Gap-61343.html
The identity of the "creepy" older users are might catch you by surprise. Who are they? Parents and their friends. Here's a quote from the news item by a college student:
Lauren Auster-Gussman, a freshman at Juniata College in Pennsylvania, says it's particularly awkward when one of her parents' friends asks to join her social network. She thinks Facebook should only be used by people younger than, say, 40.
"I mean, I'm in college," she says. "There are bound to be at least a few drunken pictures of me on Facebook, and I don't need my parents' friends seeing them."
In the early stages of social networking which were predominantly accessed by adolescents and young adults, these users were posting all kinds of material on their profiles that they might come to regret as they get older (if they haven't already!) So, as older people begin to engage in the social networking phenomenon, young adults are beginning to rethink what they want to post on their profiles, which is a positive step. As the news item notes, some young adults are also trying to find ways to prevent older adults from accessing their profiles. While this isn't exactly what parents might desire, and they'll need to work through the issues with their kids, the end result is also positive, namely that young people are taking steps to secure their profiles.
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