If you have children who are on Facebook and want to get started with your own account, but do not know where to begin, I would strongly encourage you to go to your child and let them know that you are interested in learning more and setting up your own page and becoming their online friend. You’ll have a blast with each other and create memories.

If you would like to try it on your own, I’ve listed some of the basic account setup steps to get you started.

Sign up for an account. Go to www.facebook.com , complete the signup information on the right side and click “Sign Up”.

Follow the next prompt to enter the security words.

Step 1 - Find Friends. Facebook allows you to enter your e-mail address and e-mail password so that it can search through your address book and find your friends that are already online. If you prefer not to type in this information, you can choose “Skip This Step”. I personally prefer to skip entering my personal information here and finding my friends manually.

Step 2 - Profile Information. You can begin building your profile by entering where you went to high shcool, college, and where you work. Facebook uses these fields to also help find friends that match what you input. If you do not want to enter this information at this point, you have the option to skip.

Step 3 - Profile Picture. Choose a picture of yourself that is already on your computer or, if you have a webcam, choose the option “Take a Photo”. Again, you can skip this step and upload your profile picture later.

Step 4- Confirm Your Account. Facebook sends an email to your email address. To confirm your Facebook account, you must check your email and follow the instructions provided.

You have successfully set up a Facebook account!

Finding Friends. To find friends, choose “Friends - Find Friends” in the upper menu. You will be able to search for people by their name or e-mail address. When you find the person you want to be friends with, choose “Add as friend”. Facebook then sends them a message that you have requested to be their friend. Once they confirm you as a friend, you can see each other’s information.

Privacy Settings. Privacy settings can be set on each aspect of your Facebook account. Choose “Settings - Privacy Settings” in the upper right menu. Choose each setting and tweak it to best fit you.

Posing. Facebook posting is done on your “wall”. Your wall gives you an area where you can update your status. Your status might vary from a quote that you want to post to letting your friends know you just watched a movie and loved it to saying you’ve had a great day. It’s in your wall where you will see what your friends and children are saying. You can also go to one of your friend’s or children’s walls and see what other people are posting on their wall. Remember, you can only see on your wall what your friends are posting.

I first entered the world of Facebook to try to learn everything I could about it before my son became interested and asked me if he could sign up for an account. It took me a little while to really see what the purpose was, but after hanging in there, I’ve connected with lost high school friends and been able to re-establish many friendships.

I hope this post has helped you feel a little more comfortable with setting up a Facebook account. And, I hope many of you were able to set up your account with the help of your children who may already have an account.

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