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Facebook Friending – To Friend or Not to Friend
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Who are your friends?
Facebook is a fabulous tool to reconnect with friends, keep track of loved ones and advertise your business. It can also be a very dangerous place to dwell if you're not smart about what you do.
You should be mindful of who you “friend”. Some of the most common mistakes and the ones that cause the most trouble are these:
Parents, Teachers and Kids:
It is not a good idea. Teachers likewise, should be careful of friending their students. If you were to see something inappropriate you would be compelled to do or say something about it. Some parents think it's a great way to keep up with what their kids are doing, and it is, but look at it this way; would you have wanted your parents to see everything that your friends were doing?
Teachers, if you feel you need or want to friend your students, I suggest having separate accounts, one strictly for your students and one as your personal page or simply have a rule that you cannot friend current students and promise to friend them once they've graduated.
In the same breath kids should think twice about friending your friends' parents or your parents' friends. There are just some things you don't need (or want) to know.
Ex-boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands and wives:
Thanks to Facebook, there's been a new term coined “Retrosexuals” these are the people who friend their exes. This is a really dangerous area. Especially if you're married or currently in a relationship, or they are. It is very easy to only remember the good stuff but there is a reason that person is an ex and inviting that variable into your current situation is probably drama you could do without. Think long and hard about why you want to reconnect with this person before deciding to accept their friend request or inviting them into your Facebook circle.
All of that being said, always remember who your audience is on Facebook; your friends. Be careful what you post. Your status, your pictures, your comments and be very careful about what other people can post on your wall, about you, to you or of you, especially pictures. Utilize your privacy settings but remember once someone is your friend they can see it all.
So always be cautious when you check your suggested friends list and when you you see that notification of a friend request, think first. Do you really want to invite them into your circle?
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