Facebook For The Over 40 Crowd

I've been on Facebook (or as the original creators and I call it, 'The Facebook') long enough now to have a pretty good idea of what is worthwhile, and what is a waste of time, for anyone older than 40.

[As an aside, it seems to me that Facebook usage begins to noticeably drop for people somewhere in their 30s.  It figures that once people's lives mature, they should get busier working on the relationships with their children and their careers, and have less time for social media.  Maybe this will change some as the Facebook generation matures, and the mobile technology further integrates.  As for the under-30 crowd on Facebook, I have no idea what's worthwhile - other than spending less time on it.]

Here are a few effective uses of Facebook for the over-40 crowd:

• Posting pictures and status of out-of-the-ordinary events, like football games or vacations.  No need to post pictures of your children or grandchildren (see below), with the possible exception of newborns in the form of a birth announcement.  And it's OK to post pictures of significant others, for others to creep on them.

• Re-connecting with old high school and college friends, ones who you liked well enough, but not well enough that you cared to keep in touch.  This comes with the added benefit of finding out what they look like, who they've become, and comparing that with what you thought they'd be.

• Sharing links to other interesting web-based material, especially video links.  Let me repeat - INTERESTING material.  Note that anything related to animals, especially cats, is not interesting.  Also note that contrary to what some say, politically-related info is perfectly acceptable, especially to those over 40.  Cute pictures or videos of pets don't affect your future, but political ideology does.

Here are a few ineffective uses of Facebook for the over-40 crowd:

• Posting pictures and status of children, especially older children.  Unless it's a big event, like prom or graduation, no one actually cares what your teenager is doing, as long as they aren't doing something illegal in my neighborhood.

• Liking statuses.  If you're over 40 years old, unless it's family, or unless you also have a pithy comment to attach to a someone else's status, don't simply 'like' it.  That super-cheesy, and it implicitly means you dislike status which you don't 'like.'  What's the point?

• Invitations to events.  Thanks for not calling, but this isn't going to work either.

One other thing for us oldsters - if you aren't going to check your Facebook page at least once every few days, why have you bothered to start one?  If your answer is to creep on your kids or their friends, that isn't good enough.