How Much Information Do I Have to Share on My Facebook Account?
Facebook has become the most used social network of the new millennium and is growing daily. Some people are worried about using Facebook due to privacy issues and fear giving away too much information. This article will teach you how and what to share.
Share as much as YOU want
The question should not be 'How much information do I have to share?' but 'How much information do I want to share?' and to be clear on how we can control this.
Required information to set up an account
As with any membership there is a minimum amount of required details that you need to give to open a Facebook account. To sign up you need to give your full name, email address, desired password, gender and date of birth. There are reasons for providing this basic information:
Full name: This is so people can find you and become friends with you, which is the main purpose of Facebook. You can still choose another name, under which you want to appear, if you prefer not to be found easily.
Email address: Facebook will send you a confirmation email to confirm your sign up. Later you will receive emails when people send you messages or to confirm friend requests. Once you've signed up, you can change the notification settings and choose when you want to receive emails and when not. Your email address will only be displayed if you want that and you can change the privacy settings any time.
Password: You need your email and password to sign in.
Gender: Facebook profile pictures, if you haven't uploaded your own, show a male or female head outline. It is just basic information with which they classify people.
Date of birth: Minimum required age to join Facebook is thirteen.
Privacy settings
Once you have set up an account make sure you go to your privacy setting and customize them so that either everyone, friends of friends or only your friends can see your information. To find the privacy settings click on the account link in the top right corner on your Facebook page, choose 'Privacy Settings' in the drop-down menu and you will find a list of customizable settings. Follow this link for a thorough explanation on 'Controlling how you share' on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation.php
What to share on the status update
Your status update is where you share your thoughts etc. with your friends. It appears on the top of your page or your home page and reads: 'What's on your mind?' As soon as you click in the field it becomes blank and you can fill in your status update. Be mindful what you share as it is public to everyone connected to you.
Gloss