Thanks to Facebook, we all virtually live in a glass house. With a few clicks, presto, what we want to share to the world is out there. This is handy for when you want to share good news, or if there's something urgent that you need to relay to a lot of people at such short time. It's also handy for keeping in touch, or for keeping tabs on family and friends. 

What I noticed however is that many people do not distinguish anymore between what's public or alright to share, and what's private, or something you have to keep hidden and for only a priviledged few to see or read about.  I am suprised to see people posting pictures of themselves in their nightgowns (gasp!), underwear (gasp again!) or of themselves in drinking sessions or eating splurges. Did they really want the world to know?  Did they really want to be targets of opinions against which they cannot defend themselves? Did they really want to make that kind of impression, or couldn't care any less of what others think of them? Really?  How brave!

Facebook is everywhere, is free and open to anybody.  Google a name and if that person has a Facebook account, he or she will turn up in the search results. If you have not made your Facebook account private or limited to your closest friends, there is a big chance just about anybody can see what you've gladly shared in your accounts.  That is why I don't think it is wise to post just about anything in your account.  You may think it is harmless, but you may just have given people information they can use against you (like where you usually hang out, which school your child goes to, what you usually do at certain days or times), or things from which other people can get wrong impressions of you.  

If you cannot and do not go out of the house in just your jammies, why should it make sense posting a picture of you in your sleepwear? If you must cover up when you walk out of the shower, why should it make sense posting a close-up picture of your behind? If you are young and innocent, why post provocative, come-hither pictures?

How do you think prospective employers would think of you when they see picture after picture of you holding a beer bottle or swigging alcohol, or partying wildly? That doesn't really paint a picture of a reliable, hardworking, trustworthy employee, even if in truth you are and that drinking session or party was a once-in-a-blue-moon thing. 

And how would the young ones in your family think of you? Do you really want to influence their behavior and beliefs that way? How do your actions reflect the way you were raised by your parents?

It is sad, but true.  What you post out there can and may be used against you, or may hurt others, even if the harm is not intentional.  So post responsibly.  Demonstrate maturity and professionalism by distinguishing what you should share, and what you should keep private.   Always ask yourself, do I really want the world to know about this? What good does it do ME for the world to see me this way? If the world doesn't really have to know, and no good is done to you or those around you at all, keep the post private.