Old School Girl in a New School World

Last week, my baby nearly choked. I actually had to pull her out of her high chair and administer baby-Heimlich in order to dislodge the Cheerio* that was blocking her airway.
As I told an acquaintance about the experience, the first question she asked me was, "Why didn't you post it on Facebook or Twitter?" I was confused. In my mind, having your child choke isn't something you just broadcast to anyone and everyone. It's horrific and something I'd sooner forget, actually. Why would I post it on Facebook? What kind of mother comforts her hysterical baby and then immediately heads to whatever medium is closest to report the incident to the Twitterverse?
How backward am I that I want to keep private things private? I constantly struggle not to rebel and cut off my Facebook account entirely, because I have principles that state that my Friends are people I talk to in person, or most impersonally via email. Why should I let just anyone who adds me to their list witness the most important events of my life (good or bad)?
So if I am averse to letting loose via social networking, why do I continue to tweet/blog/update my statuses? Because that's what the kids are doing nowadays, and I don't want to be out of touch. With two daughters growing up in a techno-savvy world, the last thing I need is for my youngsters to be able to pull the wool over my eyes for any reason. Responsible parenting dictates that I need to take an active interest in the things that my kids are (or will be) interested in, so I can be armed with information in any circumstance. Electronic social networking is one of the tools I use to keep my kids safe.
In addition to that reason, I keep up with these things because it's the easiest way to keep in touch with people. Impersonal? Yes. Convenient? Heck yeah. I'll be the first to admit it's awesome to be able to know what's going on via personal play-by-plays, and connections are so much more to-the-point. I repeat myself less if I just post it on the Web.
All in all, I'm happy I didn't post my baby's traumatic experience. But, using my favourite privacy settings, I might loosen up a little bit in the future. Besides, I have to admit that I'm in touch with some of the coolest people I know and almost-really-know online, and those connections are worth the effort it takes to summarize my life in 140 characters or less.

*Despite the hole in the middle, a Cheerio can still choke a child. I didn't think it could, either!