Social networking has mixed reviews among many people.
Typically the people who are deeply involved in the social networking scene feel that MySpace, the Facebook, and the dozens others are perfectly safe.
On the other hand, many parents and people who do not visit these websites seem to think they are nothing but a load of trouble that aims to trick children and adults into dangerous situations.
However, simply saying that social networking sites would be similar to saying you should never meet anyone new in your life because talking to strangers is dangerous.
At some point in your life you learn to use discretion and wisdom when approaching people who may help benefit your future, you simply have to learn how to do the same thing online.
After all, you cannot stay shut inside your whole life communicating with your family, and you will not be able to reap the benefits of Internet networking if you refuse to use any social networking websites.
To clarify, avoiding social networking is like avoiding driving, simply never getting behind the wheel does not guarantee you will never get in a car accident, but it will make your hard a whole lot harder.
Therefore, the trick to staying safe while using social networks is just to use common sense and know your limits online about what information you should divulge and what information you should keep to yourself.
For instance, it may be ok to tell people what state you are from, but posting your address or phone number is only going to lead to trouble, and is information nobody needs to know about you.
Additionally, giving out your first name only will also keep you out of trouble, since it is hard to find you without the knowledge of a last name.