August 8, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Although they might not know it just yet, the unborn children of Internet-savvy parents across the world are about to get a lot of friend requests.
The developers at Facebook have launched a feature that allows expectant parents to add their unborn child to the “Friends and Family” section of their profiles.
As of July 27, Users of the popular social networking site can now select “Expected: Child” from a drop-down menu of family members.
Sharing the due date is optional with the new functionality, which also publishes an update to the news feed informing parents’ friends of the change in status.
The new feature does not generate a proper Facebook profile, however, since the social networking site’s terms of service states that all users must be at least 13 years of age. Previously, Facebook users have been known to make a profile for their unborn baby by setting the child’s age to 13, or listing him or her under family members and omitting a birthdate.
Commenting on the new feature, University of Michigan Communication Studies Professor Scott Campbell told Tech News Daily that, while some may consider the new way of relating the big news too impersonal, the feature is just another step in a world of changing communications.
“Just as students have always passed notes in class and are now sending text messages instead, this is just another way to spread news and information about your life through social media,” said Campbell.
While Campbell noted that some may think the feature is too impersonal – “Facebook makes listing a child announcement as casual as updating job information and hobbies,” he notes – some pro-lifers hailed the change as a recognition of the unborn as a person already loved by his or her parents.
“This wasn’t a political move by Facebook (though some will try to interpret it that way) — it was rather responding to something their users wants to see added as a feature,” noted Tom Peters of CatholicVote on the Live Action blog.