Facebook Frenzy, the Attack of the Hairy Eyeballs, and Friending the Pope

I always wondered how many people read my weekly column "Mom to Mom" and after last week's topic, "Twitter My Face Space" I now have a pretty good indication. Clearly, I hit a nerve. I have received countless references to the column, two cold shoulders, one hurumph (yes, I was surprised--I thought the art of hurumphing was a lost one!) and quite a few hairy eyeballs. (One clever person actually admitted that she opened up my "friends" page to see if she could figure out who I was talking about.)

Surprisingly, though, the people I was specifically addressing have not "de-friended" me. I was stunned until it hit me that they are so consumed with Facebook, they have have no time, and possibly (horror of horrors!) no desire to read my column. So, I went on Facebook to see what my cyber friends were up to. I didn't get very far because smiling in my "Friends Suggestion" box was Pope Benedict. !!!???!!! Yes, the Pope has a Facebook page and the gods of Facebook have deemed that we should be friends. I momentarily considered actually "friending" him, but it's kind of like your father "friending" you on Facebook. And I just don't know if I could handle Pope Benedict poking me, or sending me a drinking challenge, or inquiring what novel my life represents. And what if he tagged me in a picture?

I should be flattered that somewhere in cyberspace me and the Pope can be "friends," but I feel more comfortable with the "hurumphs" and the hairy "eyeballs". Amen.