Boston girl signs $200 contract with her dad to deactivate Facebook account
A business-minded teen recently made her dad an offer he couldn’t refuse – for a mere $200, she would deactivate her Facebook account.
“She came to me and said, ‘Dad, would you pay me $70 not to be on Facebook?’ and I thought she was joking. I said, ‘You can’t live without Facebook,’” said Paul Baier, a Wellesley resident.
But the more his 14-year-old daughter thought about it, the more she wanted the deal to go through.
“What if I left Facebook for the rest of the school year?” she asked.
Baier was intrigued.
“I told her that if we were going to do this, we would do it right,” said Baier, which is why earlier this week he composed a “Facebook Deactivation Agreement.”
The terms are simple; if the high school freshman deactivates her Facebook account from February until June 26, and hands over her password, she will get $200 free and clear. If she makes it until mid-April, she’ll get $50, but Baier doesn’t think she’ll crack.
“She’ll make it. She’s pretty good when she puts her mind to something,” said Baier, adding that he’s proud of his daughter’s “haggling ability.”
The agreement was posted on Baier’s business blog, Practical Sustainability, where it caught a lot of attention from opinionated parents.
One commenter who went by “Bitzy,” laid into Baier, calling him “an idiot.”
“Why not try something called “parenting”. It’s more difficult than bribery but will more beneficial to your daughter in the long run. Otherwise, she sounds like a spoiled brat and that’s your fault.”
But not all disapproved. Lori Lipsky chimed in, “A parent who cares and is actively involved in his daughter’s life is a wonderful thing. Two hundred dollars is a very small price to pay for better grades, more time with the family, etc. I loved this post.”
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