Recently, I’ve seen a whole bunch of folks (via status messages and the like) indicate that they are deleting this information or that information from Facebook in order to protect their privacy. While I’ll agree that Facebook is horrible with respect to privacy settings (especially the defaults whenever they change an interface or introduce a new feature), a little critical thinking is in order…
Jobs. For those concerned about your employer being public, ask yourself: Is that information elsewere? Ever published a paper or contributed an article that listed your employer? Posted your resume? Been on a conference committee or program review committee? Had a profile up on LinkedIn or Plaxo? Odds are, if you have, your employment history is already out there.
Schools. As for schools: Most likely, you’ve already been sharing that stuff: finding schoolmates seems to be a purpose of Facebook. But it’s out there in other ways: such as the schools list on LiveJournal, or stuff up on Classmates.Com, or the numerous reunion websites.
Interests and Favorite Things. First, don’t ever list an interest if you don’t want it to be public. Yes, we probably all like sex, but there’s no reason to list it in your profile. That said, your interests are probably already well known. Have an LJ profile? Your interests are public. Write anything about anything? You’re probably talking about stuff that interests you. Communicating your likes and dislikes is a large part of internet discourse.
Is privacy important? Yes. But use common sense. Things like your name and address are already out in the public, as are many other facts about you. It used to be hard to pull them together, but then G-d invented G–gle. So do be cautions, yes. Don’t answer all those quizzes that go around (they are much more fearful, privacy-wise). Don’t post your SSN. Consider being cautious about talking about when you’re leaving your house empty. But have a critical mind as well, and be aware that much of what Facebook makes public you’ve probably already made public.
