I have 3 kids -- 21-year old daughter, 17-year-old daughter, and 15-year-old son. Of course they’re all on facebook, and so am I (of course!). When I signed up, they thought it was funny and unexpected -- like me knowing by accident who Immortal Technique is -- and all three of them friended me right away. But within a day or two, my 17-year-old decided it was more weird than funny, and unfriended me. She’s the most mainstream of my kids, but also the most private.

My other two have not had a problem with it. We write on each others’ walls, comment on each other posts, and generally have a fine old facebook time.

Sure, I use facebook to check up on them. But only once have I been “parental” -- when my son posted something that went beyond normal 15-year-old boy crudeness. My feeling was that posting something on facebook is like shouting it loudly in the crowded hallway between classes at school... and I suspect he would never shout this particular gem. He must have felt the same way, because when I commented on it he removed it without a word. This was early on in our facebook friendship, and although I’ve been tempted to a few times, I haven’t stepped in again like that.

Does that make me one of those misguided parents who want to be their kids’ friend, not their parent? Maybe.

Or maybe on facebook -- given its origins as a network for college students -- I feel a little like an outsider -- an interloper who's unsure of his status or role or welcome.

Or maybe I just don’t want to get “unfriended.” Then I wouldn’t be able to check up on my kids at all....