By now, I think everyone knows that there are certain things to be wary of on Facebook. Don't get me wrong, I love Facebook! I have my own account and I use it daily. Facebook is a great social tool and it allows us to stay in-the-know about many current topics and what's going on in your friends and families lives at the click of a mouse. But as with anything else in life, there are a few things to be aware of on the site! I've taken the liberty to give you my list of what I think you should avoid doing on Facebook. These are ALL from my own personal experiences-except for point number 5, because I don't have any children of my own. However I have a few friends who have realized it wasn't the best idea to let their own children have Facebook so I thought I would include that idea in my article. Please keep reading for 7 things to be wary of on Facebook!
In this world we live in today, there are so many stalkers and creeps out there, it's NEVER wise to friend someone you don't know! There's the risk of hackers and stalkers, as well as virus threats. Besides, do you really want someone you don't know up in your business? I would even advise against adding people that you have only met a few times and are not on a personal level with. If you don't know someone that well, there's no need to let them see personal aspects of your life!
There are plenty of Facebook viruses going around! You can receive them through a personal message or via friend posting on your wall. And it's not because your friends want to give you a virus! They probably have no idea that they are sending out a virus. Be wary of clicking onto postings on your wall or news feed that are "games" or "questions" or "invitations." And if you receive something similar that seems even a bit off through a message, just don't open it!
Of course Facebook is personal, there's no way that you can keep it from being personal unless you never upload photos or statuses or info about yourself. But one thing to be wary of on Facebook is posting TOO many personal statuses. You don't want to post the intimate details of your period or the relationship difficulties you are having with your mom. And constantly updating statuses about how depressed you are or how much you love your man only annoys other people and makes you seem like you are craving too much attention.
This is one thing to be wary of on Facebook, especially for a married person. Even single people should be careful who they friend of the opposite sex. As mentioned before, there is always the threat of stalkers, but there's also other reasons. It can open too many doors or come across in a way that looks bad if a married person has too many friends of the opposite sex who are not relations if they are constantly messaging and commenting on these friends threads. My husband and I agreed long before we were married that we would only have friends of the opposite sex that we both knew mutually or were related too. This has helped us to keep things honest and open and kept many opportunities from arising.
When you sign up for Facebook, you have to verify that you are 18 years or older. Of course it's easy to lie online, and I honestly don't see anything wrong with a 15 or 16 year old having a Facebook account. But I do think it's wise to not let your 8 year old have Facebook account. For one thing, young children should be playing outside and enjoying their childhood, and for another, there are too many things that can go on that might harm your child or negatively affect them. It's up to your discretion of course, but this is just one thing I think you should be wary of on Facebook.
It's a good idea to keep any and all work related topics off Facebook. I once had a job working at daycare and another co-worker and I were discussing work related issues on each other's walls. Well, we both got reprimanded for it and asked to keep work separate from our personal lives. I don't mean that you shouldn't mention minor things such as where you work at or what time you got off, but going into details on what goes on or what you don't agree with is probably not a good idea.
One little pet peeve that I do have about Facebook is all the mindless gossip and useless status updates. If you or any of your friends are using Facebook as a "source" of information, it's highly likely that anything you see or post has been stretched out of proportion. Facebook has been abused by many users before and I am not pointing fingers at you in any shape or form! I just think that gossip is one thing to be wary of on Facebook!
As I said before, I love using Facebook! It's a great website and I have no problems with it. I would just like to warn others about the potential hazards and different things to be wary of on Facebook. Do you have a Facebook? If so, I hope this article brought a few things to your attention and was helpful to you!
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