As we were musing with the idea that our children will find us impressive and sophisticated, BOOM, came the social media and our children took to it like ducks to water. I do not know enough to explain the dangers of social media but I know enough to be uncomfortable.
I was raised in a very private home that handled its business quietly, to maintain the sanctity and dignity of the family. My siblings and I carried that with us into our adulthood. Then came our children. Not bad kids by any standard, but, they embraced things that are foreign and uncomfortable for my generation. What good can come from posting your pictures out there for strangers to see. What good is it to share your personal information with strangers? What good is it to tell everybody your daily activities and your every move.
I know I am now sounding my age. I am admitting the fear of the unknown. Most people in my generation finds the above sharing of personal details not only inappropriate but outright dangerous. We cannot predict the future or confidently say what will happen to that personal information, BUT, gutt feeling tells me it will not be pretty.
Armed with those uncomfortable feelings, you try to share your discomfort with Generation Dot Com. Their reaction is exactly how I felt about my mother freaking out about Propane Gas in a strangers house in Nyahururu decades ago. She voiced her fear which was real to her, whether from misinformation or plain gutt feeling. But I could not feel her fear, I considered it embarrassing.
That is exactly how this Dot Com generation is looking at us – embarrassing. Hold on to something my fellow “old folks” this ride might get bumpy for us.
