The Moment<\/a> (London)<\/p>\nPrecious Odoeme<\/p>\n
17 December 2011<\/p>\n
\nIN what appears to be an irony, the United States President Barack Obama who relied heavily on social media to win election in 2008, has admitted that he banned his daughters from using Facebook.<\/p>\n
Giving reason for his action, Obama said he did not want ‘strangers knowing our business,’ adding that it ‘does not make much sense’ to put the most private details of his family life on public view.<\/p>\n
His eldest daughter, Malia, is 13, and just old enough to use Facebook. Her younger sister Sasha is 10.<\/p>\n
‘But Mr. Obama said he won’t consider allowing them to join the site until they are both four years older,’ said a report in Britain’s Daily Mail recently.<\/p>\n
‘His admission seems somewhat ironic, given that he made full use of Facebook and other websites to encourage the young to vote for him in the presidential election – and to raise millions of dollars for his campaign. As a result, he became known as the ‘First Social Media President,’ the paper added.<\/p>\n
Obama’s Facebook page – which has 24 million ‘likes’ – remains a key part of his ongoing efforts to seek re-election.<\/p>\n
In an interview, the president described the thinking behind the Facebook ban as: ‘Why would we want to have a whole bunch of people who we don’t know knowing our business? That doesn’t make much sense.’<\/p>\n
He added: ‘We’ll see how they (his daughters) feel in four years.’<\/p>\n
AllAfrica – All the Time<\/p>\n
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