One advantage of having a son who continuously updates his dad on the latest trends and gadgets is that I get a sort of ringside view on the things that drive Generations X and Y.

Boomer Gen retards such as this author -- who thought that our own pace of change was pretty fast in our heyday – must be astonished at the constantly advancing and shifting pace of life in the fast lane, one made possible by the increased use of the internet by average Filipinos and the wide penetration of social media.

It seems like only yesterday that my son would tell me of he and his brother’s ability to keep in touch with buddies through Friendster. Then, they both dropped out of Friendster and took to Facebook like dolphins to water.

After over a year of hearing about the wonders of Facebook, I finally agreed to activate an account that had been set up for me but from which I had kept away…as if it were the plague or something. That first tentative look into Facebook became a prolonged adventure, one that continues to this day as I find more and more of my friends.

In fact, the assortment of friends I have right now looks like a potpourri of sorts: Relatives to the nth degree; classmates and friends from grade school and high school; associates from the workplace; fellow spiritual warriors; lots of young “kids” who are either friends of my sons, children of my neighbors and friends, or those with mutual interests; government and political-types; and, a wide assortment of other friends who defy classification.

When queried about why I allow so many people to befriend me thru Facebook, I merely answer that as long as they are fairly decent people, I do not mind having them as friends. But they do have to put up with my various posts on topics ranging from my conservative brand of politics; my traditional views on topics like religion, family, and marriage; and reposts of items that appeal to me – from foodie blogs to nice photography that stir the soul.

Every now and then, I post some of my articles that range from the highly spiritual, to musings in columns such as this very one. But one overall theme that I try to put forth is the need for one to live a life that is based on decency and moral principles. If this message gets through somehow – despite the many funny jokes and stories that I pass on to my friends – then, my profile would have served its purpose.

There are days when I feel that I want to reach out to each and every one of my Facebook friends, but also have to realize the mix precisely militates against resorting to rants and raves that would turn off the average reader. In fact, I truly believe that I can, for example, profess my Catholic faith as often as possible, but done in such a way so that I do not offend those who choose to believe in God in other ways or not at all.

Almost every single day, I find a friend from long ago, and the desire to remain in touch continues. This alone validates the observation that the average Filipino is more of a social animal than most others, and that we tend to look to family and friends as a social safety net not just in the real world, but also, it seems, in the virtual world.

There is yet another thing I have to truly try out, and this is to finally use the Twitter account I activated a long time ago at the urging of my son. It took me over a year to try and get to like Facebook….I am giving myself another year to convince myself that my life will never be the same without Twitter.