New default settings for family on Facebook demote children, spouses and parents to the bottom of the page while elevating friends to the top, a change some parents find disconcerting.

Marnie Swedberg, author of SANE: Social Networking Success in 15 Minutes a Day, states, “Facebook has had a wonderful family first policy until now, a policy that has helped families stay foremost in each others’ minds when on the website by posting family members in the most prominent position. This policy has been reversed.”

Families on Facebook make up much of its 500 million users, half of whom log in every day.

“Facebook family connections happen every second of every day,” says Swedberg, whose personal networks rank in the thousands. “I have three young adult kids myself and I like to see them every chance I get, even on Facebook. More importantly, I want to communicate that they rank number one in my world both on- and off-line.”

Facebook is impacting our culture. What happens on Facebook has the potential to change things in the world of face-to-face. By demoting the visibility of family, and promoting the position of friends, Facebook is communicating a change in values, however subtle.

The good news is that it is easy to re-position your family first on your personal Facebook profile page. Simply follow these steps:

1. Login to your Profile Page.
2. On the left bar, identify the word “Friends” or “Family” under your photo.
3. Click on the editor’s pencil icon that appears when you mouse over one of those words.
4. Find “Featured Friends.” (Probably near the top center of the page.)
5. Left click on the word “Family” and drag it above “Friends.”
6. Save.

To learn more about making the most of your online connections, request your free copy of SANE: Social Networking Success in 15 Minutes a Day from Marnie.com.