Facebook: to delete or not to delete?

Because of the recent Facebook privacy controversy, I've been on the fence about deleting my Facebook account for the second time. If you want to delete yours as part of the National Quit Facebook day (May 31), the information is all here.

In my opinion, there are three questions every Facebook user needs to answer before they decide what action they take on May 31.

How much do I share on Facebook? In the day of location-based social media like FourSquare and Gowalla revealing every time you leave your house, how can something like Facebook pose any more of a threat? One of privacy intrusions that worried me was the "public" profile that was much more public than I wished it to be. I don't particularly want random people to see the bands I love and activities I take part in, but with the new liking feature, they can see it all. I don't see how this information can cause me any harm, though. If others had conflicts of interest with their work, school or religion that can make for controversy, I can see how that would be a problem.

What kind of photos are there of me on Facebook? This one is partly your responsibility and partly that of your friends. I have some embarrassing photos on my Facebook page - not because I'm doing something illegal, or something that is socially unacceptable; just really dumb faces or days I wasn't looking my best. Do I want potential employers to see that? Absolutely not. Ask your friends to remove photos you aren't proud of, especially if they could be potentially detrimental to your reputation, and follow through to make sure they don't get posted again.

Bottom line: do I really understand what's going on with these privacy issues? There are many conflicting stories regarding the Facebook privacy gaffs. Make sure you're getting your news from a source that's reliable and has evidence to back up the claims, and not just listening to a story that's been manipulated by the grapevine.

So how do these answers affect your decision? It should be a good representation of the information you put on your Facebook page in the first place. The bottom line of this issue comes to personal responsibility. Since many people aren't fully reading or understanding the Terms of Use whenever they check the box, you have to be responsible for yourself. Passwords and protection laws and privacy settings are all well and good, but it's still the internet. Be responsible for yourself and what you post. That's the safest way to ensure that privacy changes won't trip you up.

As for me, I'm keeping my Facebook.