Are you accepting a friend request on Facebook simply because you’ve got friends in common? As cool as it may seem right now, it can cause you a massive headache later on. Accepting unknown friends on Social networks, especially Facebook, has caused lot of troubles to thousands of Facebook users.
Here are a few things you should know and think about, before accepting a friend request on Facebook.
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A friend, really?
Facebook is not a dating website and if you’re looking for one, there are many portals out there dedicated to dating and love. Is the friend request you’ve got on Facebook, really from a friend? A close acquaintance? Or simply someone you met at a random coffee shop for a few seconds? If you think that having a few thousand friends on Facebook can make you look really cool, think again.
It could give out an impression that you are out these to increase your popularity meaninglessly and accept just about any friend request that comes along.
Spam your feed
We all check our Facebook feeds first thing in the morning. That’s okay because it gives us an update of what’s been happening with our friends who are scattered across different countries. What is really annoying though is to see silly updates like "Going for lunch" or "Stepping out to get groceries".
Your new friend may be someone who has lots of time on hand and his/her continuous updates may take up half of your feed. We know that you can filter out such nuisances, but did you really sign up on Facebook to manage filtering people out?
Your new friend may circulate your pictures
Do we really need to tell you that there is no dearth of perverts out there who seem to have a lot of time on hand to manipulate and circulate your pictures? The last thing you’d want to see is your picture being morphed, twisted and posted elsewhere.
This caution about circulating pictures is not only limited to manipulation of pictures. An unknown new friend may also take some of your pictures and simply pass it around to his/her equally perverted friends.
Do I see a stalker in him/her?
Your Facebook profile is your online identity which reveals a lot more than simply cool pictures and likes. There have been many reported cases of stalking and harassment which have been fuelled primarily because the stalker gains vital information through the victim’s Facebook profile. Before you accept a friend request on Facebook simply because you’ve got common friends, think if he/she can be the potential stalker you’ve always feared.
And last but not the least – Always check the timeline of the person who is requesting your friendship – What does he generally talk to his friends, what his is conduct online, what does he / she share. If you think your interests match – Accept him / her as your friend on Facebook!
What’s your take?