SASUA (Seniors Against Single Use Acronyms) and Facebook Follies!

Hello folks, let’s chat…Every day more and more of our parents’  generation are texting and signing up for their own Facebook accounts. Granted, this is largely to keep up with their kids and grandkids, who I understand to be fleeing Facebook in equal numbers for this very reason. The way I see it, that just means they have something to hide, but that’s another story. Personally, I’m delighted that Mama has joined Facebook. However, it has come to my attention that our parents need a bit of help navigating the popular social media acronyms. They’re quick to use them, which could be good, but they tend to assign their own meanings, which is not so good.

For instance, Mama recently set out to leave an uplifting message on the Facebook wall of a friend who had lost a loved one. “We’re praying for you!” Mama typed, which was nice, but then she finished with a big LOL and an exclamation point. Mama explained to us girls that she thought she was saying, “Lots of Love.” We hated having to tell her that she had actually laughed out loud, but we just knew she’d want to follow up on that one.

Poor Mama, I think she swore off acronyms after that, but she has still managed to accidentally send the wrong message occasionally, like the time a mutual young friend of ours posted a status saying she was hoping to see the Chippendales perform in Dallas. Imagine how surprised my sisters and I were to see that Mama had joined that thread, too. “Oh, that sounds like fun!” our mother had typed about seeing those men strip nekkid. In our ensuing phone investigation we discovered that Mama thought they were talking about Alvin and the Chipmunks, a DVD she has enjoyed many times with her great grands.

In a similar incident we have also recently discovered that Mama is a fan of Pink, the Rock Star. Who knew? Oh, sure, she claims she was “liking” the color pink, but we’re not so sure.  Times they are a changin’.

Hugs, Shellie