Monday, May 14, 2007

Rosalind has added you as a friend on facebook...

To add or not to add?

With all of the new ways to stay connected to people like facebook and myspace, what are the rules with adding "friends".

Is it ok to add your colleagues from work as your "friends"? What about your past employers or teachers or professors? Should these people be given the privilege to see into your oh-so-personal life?

After being a member of these "profile" communities for a while, it's hard to remember what you've posted, what you've said about someone or to someone, what kind of albums you have or what kind of pictures you've been tagged in. I just wonder if it might come back to haunt you in the future.

Do you really want these people who aren't necessarily your "friends" but rather "friendly acquaintences" to see all of the personal things that you've posted? It's a tough call because on one hand, facebooking is fun, and you want to learn more about the other person, but on the other hand, it could lead to some uncomfortable situations - even ones that you're unaware of.

I've added some colleagues as well as some past teachers, but now I'm wondering if i should have kept my distance, and on top of that, i've created this annoying little thought in my head telling me i should worry everytime i interact on facebook: "will so-and-so read this?" "what will they think?" "would they tell someone else about it?".

I started thinking about all of this when i started hearing about highschool students who would comment on a group on facebook, but then a teacher or a principal would join the group and get the student in trouble for saying something mean about a teacher for example. That really sucks because now that kid is always going to be cautious as to what he says in case big brother is watching (which he is!).

What is your opinion on adding people like colleagues to your friend list? Do you? Does it make you nervous at all? Should there be some guidelines? Or should there be a rule that what happens on facebook stays on facebook?