Explaining "what you do" to your parents is not exactly easy when you work in social media. I know, I know -- Facebook is now considered "your mom's social media outlet," but even if she does have a profile (which mine does not), she still likely thinks all a social media manager does is play around on Facebook and Twitter all day. Being in the field myself, I know that's the furthest thing from the truth.
When I attempt to explain what I'm doing at work to my parents, they try their best to understand, but I know they have no idea what I just said to them. In an effort to educate my parents about social media and show how different generations use it, I asked my 60-year-old dad to define the following popular hashtags. And even I couldn't have imagined all of the glorious, absurd things he came up with.
#TBT
Dad's answer: To Be Tagged (At least he's speaking "social media lingo" here.)
Correct answer: Throwback Thursday
#OOTD
Dad's answer: Over Out, Totally Done (But, we're just getting started with this, Dad.)
Correct answer: Outfit of the Day
#YOLO
Dad's answer: Your Love (Yes, just "your love.")
Correct answer: You Only Live Once
#FOMO
Dad's answer: For Our Mutual Offering
Correct answer: Fear of Missing Out
#WCW
Dad's answer: Will Call Wednesday (My pops really likes events, apparently.)
Correct answer: Woman Crush Wednesday
#MCM
Dad's answer: Man Crush Monday (I gave him a hint on this one, but you go, dad!)
Correct answer: Man Crush Monday
#TFM
Dad's answer: Totally Foul Mood
Correct answer: Total Frat Move
#F4F
Dad's answer: Fun For Family (I'm having fun...)
Correct answer: Follow For Follow
#SMH
Dad's answer: Sign My Hat
Correct answer: Shaking My Head
#ICYMI
Dad's answer: I Caught You Messaging Internally
Correct answer: In Case You Missed It
Well, he got one correct at least, right? When I read off the correct answer coupled with his awesomely wrong responses, we all had a good laugh. I think it's apparent that my dad knows less about social media (and my job) than he thought. Now that he does know what these popular hashtags mean, it won't be long before we see his outfit of the day. Either way, he was a good sport about the whole thing. #FunForFamily