Albatross
Well-Known Member
From the smartest people I know...
My son recently added us back to his FB friends list. Through it I can see the pages of his other FB friends.
There is one young man my son was quite close to in junior high school. He is 22 now. Honestly, the kid was a very bad influence on my son and had a lot of problems, and his home life was terrible. But he was a funny kid with a unique worldview, and I kind of enjoyed having him around, despite having to basically watch him every minute.
Last month, seeing his FB picture was the first time I have "seen" this young man since junior high school. I was stunned by how thin he was. Yesterday he posted another picture of himself, even more gaunt -- quite frankly he looks near death -- with some incomprehensible ramblings about no one understanding him so &*$ them all, etc.
My first reaction is to send him a private message saying hello and that I am worried about him and would like to see him get some help. Not saying ANYTHING feels very wrong, like driving by an accident where I know someone is hurt and not stopping to help.
My husband says definitely do NOT do say anything, as it would be a betrayal of my son's privacy and trust. He points out that this kid has parents and friends who are quite well aware that he needs help, and I can see that his mom and his sister are on his FB friends list. husband points out that a FB message out of the blue from a casual acquaintance's mom is pretty meaningless.
He also points out that this is not the 13-year-old kid I am remembering, this is a grown man with the same responsibilities as our son.
I know he's right, but it just feels so wrong to say NOTHING.
Your thoughts?
My son recently added us back to his FB friends list. Through it I can see the pages of his other FB friends.
There is one young man my son was quite close to in junior high school. He is 22 now. Honestly, the kid was a very bad influence on my son and had a lot of problems, and his home life was terrible. But he was a funny kid with a unique worldview, and I kind of enjoyed having him around, despite having to basically watch him every minute.
Last month, seeing his FB picture was the first time I have "seen" this young man since junior high school. I was stunned by how thin he was. Yesterday he posted another picture of himself, even more gaunt -- quite frankly he looks near death -- with some incomprehensible ramblings about no one understanding him so &*$ them all, etc.
My first reaction is to send him a private message saying hello and that I am worried about him and would like to see him get some help. Not saying ANYTHING feels very wrong, like driving by an accident where I know someone is hurt and not stopping to help.
My husband says definitely do NOT do say anything, as it would be a betrayal of my son's privacy and trust. He points out that this kid has parents and friends who are quite well aware that he needs help, and I can see that his mom and his sister are on his FB friends list. husband points out that a FB message out of the blue from a casual acquaintance's mom is pretty meaningless.
He also points out that this is not the 13-year-old kid I am remembering, this is a grown man with the same responsibilities as our son.
I know he's right, but it just feels so wrong to say NOTHING.
Your thoughts?