Teens...were we ever like this???

There is a reason my boys are not on Facebook...one, they don't want to be...two, too much drama ensues.  And even though my boys are not on FB, I find it interesting that my oldest son's name shows up in someone's posts...and not necessarily in the most positive way.

Interestingly, it all begins with a girl...a woman scorned? At only 14 years old, I suppose it does start that early. Even more interesting is the fact that my son hasn't had any communication with this girl for three months.  And yet...she seems to share a different story.  Finally...this girl was one of my FB "friends". I am careful when accepting "friends" of my boys on FB.  After all, this gives them full access to my pages, photos and information.  And, I only finally accepted her when my son convinced me it was a good idea.  Today, we "unfriended" her. 

I think one of the greatest challenges that teens face is the ability to have some self-confidence. As these 14 & 15 year olds enter high school next week, they will be faced with the fact that they are not the oldest kids in the school; not the coolest kids in the school (what freshman is?); and no longer ruling the school.  With this knowledge, does insecurity have to seep out in such nasty ways?  As an adult, we know that those who go on and on talking negatively about others are simply showing their own insecurities with themselves.  But do our teenagers realize this? Or, do they mistakenly take the hurtful information to heart?

I am fortunate that my boys do have a sensible level of self confidence--and they appear to know the difference between confidence and arrogance. And yet, my son is bothered with this new tidbit of information regarding the FB post.  What bothers him most? That this other guy was one of his friends.  AND, that a girl could cause a riff in their friendship just because it makes her feel better about herself. Sad, but true.  Hopefully the guys will get a chance to talk this out and realize that girls can be manipulative and mean (ok, I admit, that's the mama bear in me coming out). 

Which brings me to my first thought...we were ever like this? I'm not sure I want to know the answer to this...but I will admit, the mama bear in me would love 2 minutes with this girl to set her straight.  Still, I've learned to let my boys fight their own battles...I just deal with my frustrations here...and now I will push my soapbox back under the table.