10 reasons to dislike FB and other social networking sites, in no particular order:
1. Nothing on the internet is private.
2. You never really know who has access to your profile and its content.
3. The internet is full of scammers, stalkers, Ex's, and companies all wanting information about you.
4. You can never trust someone else to keep your personal information private. Some people have no filter and post everything publicly rather than in an e-mail, even when asked not to do so. They pay no mind to the fact that you have not posted your own birthday, city you live in, family names, school, place of employment etc. yet they post it in comments for all to see.
5. People who know you know what you look like. Plastering the internet with your face only invites others to steal your photos for making fake profiles, stalkers to keep tabs on you and creeps to target you with scams.
6. Too many people post pictures of their friends, family and acquaintances without first asking for their approval, with no concern as to whether they like the picture, let alone want their picture posted. This could be a friendship breaker for some.
7. You have friends/family who add people they don't know to their profile. Some are their real identities, and some pose as someone else to obtain information about you and the people you know.
8. You have friends/family who befriend someone they "met" on a game or elsewhere. Upon finding they have things in common, they divulge every detail about themselves.
9. Your friends/family create their own fake profiles, adding them to their regular profile for the purpose of being deceptive. They want to increase the number of friends on their list to make them seem more popular, they use it for games or for stalking others etc.
10. The applications that are offered and can be added to your profile - specifically FB's 6 degrees of separation application - among others, is disturbing. You have no idea how closely connected you really are to people (past and present) that you don't like and have no desire to connect/reconnect with, until you use it. By then, it's too late. You've been found.
Use caution when using the internet and social networking sites. If you add someone to your profile who you have never met in person, don't give them personal details about yourself or your friends/family. If your friends/family ask you to keep their information quiet, do so. Pay attention to and respect the amount of information your friends/family post about themselves; don't break their trust. Be smart. You can have fun and still keep yourself and your loved ones protected.
