Handling the boys, part II

A few days ago I gave you a summary of one example of how Grace deals with boys who won't leave her alone. Since the whole interaction was happening over facebook, there was some chance that this was someone other than who they seemed, like a stalker trying to trick her into meeting her someplace. But this was unlikely since he was also facebook friends with a ton of Grace's other friends who also go to his high school. Feeling like this whole episode was somewhat innocuous, I related the tale to my husband much as I did here, as a story exemplifying her good sense. He didn't laugh. He countered with a cautious admonition: Make no mistake, this boy is a stalker. Just because he's 15 doesn't mean he's not. He just hasn't refined his craft yet to qualify as a stalker by the legal definition.

It made me pause and think.

Of course, I couldn't mention the whole thing to Grace. There was really no reason for me to be going through her mailbox. And beyond that, she hadn't done anything wrong. She was just being harrassed over facebook by a guy she'd never met and dealing with him appropriately. Why should I butt my nose into that?

I got a little nervous the next day when I saw on her facebook page that she had accepted his facebook friend request and that he had commented on her wall something about her being pretty and sweet. Still, I didn't mention it to her.

Turns out, that girl is smarter than I give her credit for. Since he wrote this comment on her facebook wall last week, she not only unfriended him, she blocked him. This means, for all intents and purposes, he can't "see" her on facebook anymore. Not her, her comments, her pictures, pictures of her, nothing. She disappears from facebook from his perspective.

It's a bold move for a teen to make. Though my blocked list on facebook is 30+ strong (at least), I'm not in the age range of people whose social status is determined largely by my facebook behavior. My understanding is that for a teen to block another teen on facebook is a pretty serious move. My guess is that she didn't make a big to-do over it; she just got fed up with the whole situation and solved it, not mentioning it to anyone.

I am shocked. And I am so happy. Grace gets another point for clear-headed thinking. Wow.

And in case you're wondering...

No, I Do Not Spend Every Single One Of My Days Logging On To Grace's Facebook Account And Looking At Every Single Activity She Has.