To Facebook or Not to Facebook, that is the Question.

Poor little neglected Gracie doesn't have a Facebook. I think she's one of 5 kids her age in the whole world that doesn't have one. The other four are my niece and nephew and the Obama girls.

Why, you ask? I'll tell you why....

1. Predators. No matter how hard you try to shield your child from predators, they can still manage to get through. I don't know how. But they do. Haven't you ever watched that news show where the news guy loures sicko, nasty, low-life, good for nothin', buttface predators to a house, under the rouse that they will be meeting an underage girl...to just "talk", then the news guy bombards him, grills him, then has him arrested. You've seen that, right? That's real, man. Like seriously. It happens. Those predators are hecka smart...and the teens...well, not so much. Why, because THEY. ARE. TEENS. Their brains are not developed enough to necessarily make rational decisions. That's just only the truth. I know this, because I took a child development class, like, 7 years ago...and I got an A in the class. So, that makes me an expert. That, and I was a teen once and I also have a teen. So yeah...

2. Technology. Once it's out there, it's out there and there ain't no gettin' it back. I know this, because once someone posted a not so nice picture of me (without my consent) and now it's plastered all over this not so nice website, called, "People of Walmart". Granted, it was because they had never seen someone of my caliber in Walmart before and they were in total awe of my beauty, but still. I can't take that back. Now the entire world knows I shop at Walmart. It's out there. FOR-EVER. Ok...I'm lying about that...but I'm not lying about not being able to take it back. Once it's there, even if you delete it...it's still there, somewhere, just waiting to ruin your life. I mean look at Paris Hilton, for goodness sakes. Or Kim Kardashian. Oh wait...those were bad examples....

3. Kids/people are MEAN. And all this "like for TBH and RATE" mumbo jumbo is for the birds. Let's think about this for a second. Here we have kids, behind a computer, or phone, or whatever, with no one, or nothing to filter them. So...let's say you like someone's status to get a TBH, and they don't really like you very much. Well, they don't have to look you in the eye, so they say, "TBH, I don't really like you that much. I think you're weird." Granted, the kid asked for it, but still...they are so fragile and rejection can crush them. Why allow them to set themselves up for that kind of rejection? Or what if they post a not so flattering picture of themselves...

I don't know...I just think all this posting and picture sharing crapola is too risky for young, impressionable kids. So, I know this kid that had an instagram and as I'm looking at it, I notice all that's happening here is that they were posting pictures of themselves and waiting for people to comment and like them. It freaked me out. What if they get 15 likes and 1 rude comment? What do you think is going to affect them more? Um, the one rude comment. I just feel like they're setting themselves up for criticism they don't need.

Don't believe me? Watch a lifetime movie about cyber bullying. It's real, man. And it's not funny.

I put myself out there every day when I post something. And on more than one occasion, when I was just trying to be funny, it has come back to bite me in the butt. I can't willingly and knowingly let my daughter subject herself to that. And there is no way that I can adequately monitor her facebook page when I can't even monitor my own.

Therefore, I say (in my best Soup Nazi voice), "NO FACEBOOK FOR GRACE!"