The internet is not necessarily a safe place.

Yes, I do realize that this mantra has been chanted by officers, detectives, security gurus and parents alike for years. But I was always one of those people who said, “Yeah, but the sites I use are secure and I’m careful.” That is, until recently.

It all started when I watched an episode of Criminal Minds that featured the popular social networking site, Facebook. Being a user of the site myself, I was particularly interested in the connection between it and the “who done it.” As the story unfolded, the “un-sub” used the site to partially track his victims. He was not the victims’ “friend” but rather someone who hacked into their pages to see their status updates to determine when they were most vulnerable.

It brought to mind several questions about my own use of the site. Why have I accepted the over 500 friend requests I’ve received? Why do I have folks in my friends list that either (a) I haven’t spoken to in years or (b) won’t speak to me in person now? And finally, do I even know everyone on my friends list?

I took some time and pulled up my list. The answer to my last question is no, I don’t know everyone on my friends list (or I didn’t). When Facebook sends you a message that someone wants to be your friend, they also list who you have in common. Many times, based on that connection alone, I would accept the request. I had old high school and college classmates, people I used to go to church with, people I used to work with and a few people I’d met either online or in the local coffee shop. Would I, in person, share with any of those people what’s going on in my life now? And if so, would I go into the detail that my status updates give them? Not hardly.

Each person that I’ve come into contact with in my life has played a very specific role. High school and college friends as well as old social groups were, at one point in time, very important to me. But most of those people are not who I keep up with on a regular basis. Sure, it’s nice to reconnect and reminisce. But do I really want people who I used to know receiving an update about my life now? Especially updates in short, choppy sentences and comments that only those who know me well now would understand?

As of today, my friends list has been greatly reduced. Over 300 people will no longer receive my status updates. From now on, I will be choosy who I accept a friend request from.

After all, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

My own glossary of Facebook terms:
Facebook: a social networking internet site which allows users to customize a personal internet page
Facebook Friend: Someone you’ve allowed access to view your personal page on Facebook. Facebook has security settings that help you determine who can see your personal page outside of your accepting their friend request. Facebook doesn’t automatically restrict who can see your personal page. You must activate those settings yourself.
Friend request: the mechanism by which you request access to view someone’s personal page. A person can send a friend request to those they find on Facebook and/or they can accept a friend request from someone else who wishes to view their page.
Status update: Similar to Twitter, a short message viewable by all you’ve determined can see your personal page. Called a Status update because many use it to tell those in “Facebook land” what they are currently doing.
Friend List: A list of friends whom you’ve allowed to see your personal page.

For more information about Facebook, its purpose, uses and policies, please click here.