Families Bond Through Conversations Around the Internet

One curious outgrowth of the "graying of Facebook" is the real-time interaction among generations -- children, parents and grandparents.

A common question among the younger set is, "Should I 'friend' my parents?" And for the older generation, it's "Should I 'friend' my kids?"

Fifty-year-old Bruce Headrick and his wife, Lisa, have four children, spanning from ages 12 to 18. He said the whole family sees the Facebook connection as a positive thing.

"It does allow me an opportunity to potentially talk to them if they bring a subject up," said Headrick of Montgomery. "While it can't take the place of sitting down to dinner and discussing what happened during the day at school or the challenges I may have faced at work, it does offer an extra tool to assist in and growing my children into productive citizens."

The Headricks' 16-year-old son attends the Alabama School of Math and Science in Mobile. Facebooking -- along with text-messaging and the live video service SKYPE -- has allowed the couple to interact with him daily.

"We can post ideas or comment on his wall, and then, when he gets a chance, he can read the notes or the postings," he said. "It also ensures we keep contact with him daily and lets him know how much he is missed at home and that we love and care for him."

He added it has come in handy even when his 14-year-old daughter is at home.

"It's been a great tool in knowing before I open her door if she is in a good or other mood," he joked.

Lzennie Clemons, 53, got on Facebook with the help of her 21-year-old daughter, a senior at Auburn. They became Face book friends, but Clemons soon learned there were boundaries.

The first status update her daughter typed after Clemons opened her account was, "It feels weird talking to my mom on Facebook."

In a later conversation, Clemons told her daughter that she did occasionally visit her Facebook page.

Her daughter's response? "Please don't stalk me."

Early jitters have calmed, and the two laugh about it now.