There are easy ways for parents to keep in touch with their children over social media. A tweet here, a snap there. Maybe even a Facebook post.
But one mother used Imgur to make sure her son knew she wasn't happy with him.
According to Mashable, Imgur user Kerrisimo posted a photo that called out her son - whom she called "D" - for not taking out the trash. Knowing that her son frequents the photo-sharing site, Kerrisimo hoped the photo would make it to the site's front page and that her son would see it.
"So my son has been lurking here and constantly has his nose in the phone reading and laughing at stuff here," she wrote. "He doesn't hear me when I ask him to take the trash out. Help me get this to the front page please so maybe the trash will get taken out soon!"
So far, the photo has done well. It has more than 187,000 views.
She recently edited the post and said her son saw the photo. She confirmed that the post was really just for fun.
"My son is a 20-year-old young man who is on the autism spectrum," Kerrisimo wrote. "He is VERY high functioning and graduated three years ago from high school and last year graduated from college with honors. I may not be the cool mom but I do listen to him and what is of interest and important to him. Parenting any child you try to find ways to interact with them."
This isn't the first time we've seen parents and children keep in touch in unique ways over social media. As I wrote earlier in June, Jonathan Quiñonez, a 27-year-old from Brussels, started an Instagram just so he could keep his mom up to date on his world traveling adventures.
This happened after Quiñonez quit his job so he could travel the world. But during his travels, he found himself in spots where there wasn't any cellphone service, which made it hard for him to speak with his family.
Soon he found Instagram, a platform he knew both he and his mom could access. And so the account @momimfine was born.
These families aren't alone. Research has found, after all, that many parents, especially those of college-age young people, have joined social networks to keep in contact with their offspring.
According to the Pew Research Center, about two-thirds of social media users say they stay in contact with their family using social networks. This report comes from back in 2011, when users primarily kept in contact through Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn.
"Those who say that keeping up with family members is a major consideration in their use of social networking sites are a demographically diverse group - there are no dominant trends on this question regarding age, income, education, race/ethnicity, parental status or place of residence," according to Pew.
You can imagine that number has climbed in the five years since that report. More recent numbers from Pew show that parents use more than just the aforementioned sites. They're using Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter, all social media platforms their children also visit.
In fact, 74 percent of parents use Facebook, including 81 percent of mothers and 66 percent of fathers. Pinterest is also a hit among parents and is used more than LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.
Of course, not all parents can easily access their children from social media. Pew reported that just 48 percent of parents are friends with their children on Facebook. Most tend to be friends with family members other than their own parents or children.
Understanding your child's social media life can be somewhat difficult, especially if you're not up to date on the cool lingo or what statuses mean. Here are six rules parents on social media will want to follow so they can keep a strong relationship with their children.
1. Don't be the first person to like a status
Your child may have just posted something really cool about a new job or relationship that he or she just began. Don't ruin the post by being the first to "like" it. Wait a few minutes for others to join the party before you make it solely a family reunion.
2. Don't believe the Snapchat update
Just last week, a mother believed her daughter had a serious skin issue because of a Snapchat filter. Recognize this parent's mistake and never believe that your child has actually turned into a bunny or a cat.
3. Don't treat the retweet as fact
It's the oldest rule in Twitter's book - retweets are not endorsements. Just because your youngster gave something a RT, it doesn't mean he or she necessarily believes in what the original poster said. Maybe they just want to draw attention to the tweet.
4. Watch what your child shares
If you're unsure about what's going on in your child's life, check out what he or she is sharing on Facebook. This could be political articles or even funny videos, giving you insight into what your youngster finds interesting.
5. Use Pinterest to see what your child wants for Christmas
Most people who use Pinterest are collecting boards and lists of things they want, or pictures of people they want to be. If you're struggling to buy your child a birthday or Christmas gift, visit their Pinterest page.
6. Respect the lyric status
The granddaddy of them all is the lyric status. You may see your teen post a social media update of just lyrics. Let them express their emotions lyrically, and only come back to it if it has dangerous implications.
