It happened the other day with little warning: Holly Braithwaite's mother asked her about Facebook, the juggernaut of Internet social networking sites.
Can you hear the sound of worlds colliding?
While Braithwaite knows she is old enough it shouldn't matter if her mom is on Facebook, the question still raised her defenses.
"Why do you want to know about Facebook?" Braithwaite asked her mother, who's in her 60s.
A friend had sent her an e-mail invite, her mom said.
"Just delete that," Braithwaite said, telling her mother Facebook would be too "difficult" and "complicated" for her to use.
"I don't know, it just seems so weird having my mom on Facebook," Braithwaite said in a recent interview as she explained her reaction to her mom.
"On one hand, I don't care. She can do whatever she wants. But on the other hand I'm like, 'Man, that's my mom, and that's weird.' "
But like it or not, an older demographic is joining Facebook. The site was originally started as a networking site for college students, but three years ago it was opened to people of all ages.
Now, there are more than 175 million active users on Facebook and greater than half are outside college. While Facebook says its fastest-growing demographic is people over age 30, the blog "Inside Facebook" believes women over age 55 are one of the top groups joining the site.
Either way, consider this: During the past four years, the percentage of adults on social networking sites has more than quadrupled from 8 percent to 35 percent, according to the Pew Research Center. Of people ages 35-44, at least 30 percent have a profile on a social network.
Jump 10 years to people ages 45 to 54 and 19 percent have profiles on social networks. Another 10 percent of people ages 55 to 64 have profiles.
Marlene Hyte, of Cottonwood Heights, said she joined Facebook a few months ago after hearing about it from her daughter. She's in her 60s and uses it to stay in touch with family, friends and also long-ago acquaintances.
Updates are sent to her BlackBerry, said Hyte, who considers herself very tech-savvy.
"I have instant access to what's going on," said Hyte. "My grandchildren are on there. My nieces and nephews are on there. When they post something, I have an instant update."
Her husband, Ron Hyte, is also on Facebook and said he and his wife have a competition to see who gets "friended" first by a person. With Facebook, people create profiles and only people they have invited as "friends" can see their profile.
But there are ways to block some friends from seeing certain information, depending on the settings of your account. So if your boss asks to be your Facebook "friend" and you don't want him or her to see some information, it's possible to change your settings to block some access.
From Ron Hyte's perspective, children are probably the ones encouraging their parents to join Facebook. In fact, just as he said that, Hyte mentioned his daughter had sent him an instant message through Facebook and wanted to chat.
"It's kind of another kind of addiction, if you could call it that," Hyte said. "It's handy."
But nonetheless, having mom and dad (or even grandma and grandpa) on Facebook is weird for some users.
Consider the number of Web sites or Facebook sites created to protest parents joining social networks. One such Web site, www.myparentsjoinedfacebook.com, is a place where children can post "ridiculous" messages their parents have written on their Facebook page.
There is also the Facebook group, "Don't Let My Parents Onto Facebook!" It has more than 3,000 members and was originally created as a way to protest when Facebook was considering whether to allow all people to join the site.
But parents are also getting savvy to the ways of their kids. There's a Facebook group called "Moms whose kids are embarrassed that they have a Facebook." It has more than 3,500 members.
Last October, Lisa Belkin wrote a blog for The New York Times about her experiences as a mom on Facebook and said she joined the group for "Moms whose kids are embarrassed" after being rejected by her son as a Facebook friend. She said she was considering whether to start a new group: "Parents Who Can Navigate Facebook Without the Help of Their Children, Thank You Very Much."
"Many of my friends have children who happily "friend" them — and me," Belkin wrote in that blog. "My 16-year-old niece, in turn, pretends she has friended me and doesn't think I know that she has barred me from some of the more interesting parts of her Facebook. And my own sons? The older one has blocked me, and I haven't even bothered to friend the younger one."
For David Tucker of Bountiful, embarrassing his children is not a concern. His top worry is the safety of his personal information. Tucker does not have a profile picture on his page, nor does he include information such as the year he was born or other important details.
This past month, Facebook users initiated a fight against the company after it attempted to change its rules regarding ownership of information posted on the site. The company, after making some initial changes, recanted and is now rethinking its position.
"People tell me I'm cautious, and I'm probably more than I need to be," said Tucker, who is in his 60s. "But it's better to be more cautious, I think."
But for Frank Bria of Gilbert, Ariz., safety is not really a top concern. He does remove some of his hunting pictures if his wife thinks they are too harsh and also amends updates and posts if needed, but he says he doesn't really worry about the information he puts online.
Likewise, Daniel Heintz, 37, of Sequim, Wash., doesn't worry much about what he puts out on Facebook.
From his perspective, Facebook is a great tool to keep in touch with family and also garner feedback on his business pursuits. He is friends with four generations of family, including cousins, aunts, siblings and even his own mother.
"I'm hooked," Heintz wrote in an e-mail message. "In fact, although I used to be an avid Web-surfer, I now find it difficult to imagine sites I'd rather check out."
In regards to why so-called "older" users are now flocking to the site, Heintz said he believes it is "for the same reasons all human contact interests all humans."
"We are not stones," he wrote.
But either way, Braithwaite would rather keep her mother in the "Stone Age," at least as long as she can.
"On one hand, I don't care, she can do whatever she wants," Braithwaite said. "But I'd rather not help that process along."
E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com
Facebook by the numbers
More than 175 million active users
Fastest growing demographic is peopleage 30 or older
120 friends per average user
Users spend more than 3 billion minutes each day on Facebook.
Stats on social networking
More than 70 percent of Facebook users are outside the United States.
Courtesy: FacebookStats on social networkingPercentage of adults with a profile on a social network site:
75 percent of adults age 18-24
57 percent of adults age 25-34
30 percent of adults age 35-44
19 percent of adults age 45-54
10 percent of adults age 55-64
7 percent of adults age 65 and older
How adults use their social network profile:89 percent to stay in touch with friends57 percent to make plans with friends49 percent to make new friends
Courtesy: Pew Internet and American LIfe Project