A little over a year ago, I showed my mother how to use the Facebook account that I had set up for her. She’s a beautiful woman of fifty-three who always seems to find something in life to laugh at, despite her short-term memory loss. As you might imagine (and some of you may understand through your own experience), showing someone with no computer-operating experience how to use something such as Facebook or Twitter is a very arduous task.

Since I attend college hours away from home, our initial set-up for her account was over the phone. She had wanted to try calling me on Skype, but I mentioned to her that perhaps we should not try too much at once — and rightly so, because pulling up the internet browser was the first major obstacle for her. She overcame each obstacle with a chuckle and with questions, which I readily answered. For the next few days, I received random phone calls throughout the day that normally consisted of more questions ranging from “How do I get to that blue and white page?” to “How do I open the internet?”. I’d answer, and she’d respond with a giggle and a sarcastic “You know how good my memory is!”

When I was finally with her in person weeks later, I was able to give a more in-depth explanation of just how she could use her social networking abilities. I took out a notebook and wrote step-by-step directions on how to perform various basic internet/social networking tasks. I pulled up her “Recommended Friends” list for her to scroll through, and I think that was when the whole experience truly hit her.

Her jaw dropped in shock. “Is that who I think it is?” She scrolled through the names and pictures of those who she had gone to high school with in the 1970's. I couldn't help but smile at her disbelief. I helped her send friend requests to each person, and sat patiently as she used her index fingers to peck out a short message on the keyboard.

Her eyes teared up when she received a notification that someone she hadn't spoken to in years had accepted her friend request. I’m not sure who was more emotional at that moment, her or me. I could only imagine her feelings of elation, and her excitement intensified as she spent the next few hours slowly typing messages back and forth between her friends. I felt so happy for her, and happy about how the internet brought her and people she cared about closer.

Of course, I still get the occasional phone call with a question about how to use Facebook — but she also calls to tell me what she thinks about the photos I post, or to give me encouragement when I've posted a status update while under stress. She’s since mastered Skype, and I feel as though she may want to experiment with Twitter soon.