Your friends

 

And by “your friends,” I mean everyone you’ve ever known, associated with, or passed on the street. Your mom is on Facebook. Possibly your grandparents as well. Your teachers are on Facebook. Your boss and all of your coworkers are on. The bartender from Saturday night is on Facebook, and so is that cute guy you were too much of a coward to talk to. Your favorite television shows and authors and bands are there. Toys and quirky packaged foods and clothing stores all have Facebook pages. All of them have access to your profile.

Depending on your privacy settings, certain information (at a minimum, your name and profile picture) is visible to any random stranger. By default, much of your profile information is at least visible to friends of your friends. And, of course, whenever Facebook thinks someone might know you, they suggest your name and picture to him or her.