So Facebook has finally gone public with it’s new chat feature. It’s pretty harmless and nicely integrated with the option to hide offline if you’d like to. I’m sure many Facebook users will find it to be a nice addition compared to many of Facebook’s other changes and additions.

However, I’m noticing that Facebook is becoming one of the easiest ways to stalk someone. This seems even more true for those who aren’t very tech savvy or those that have no clue about turning on and off privacy settings. With the addition of the chat, you can easily note who’s online, who’s away, and who’s simply off of Facebook at the moment. The only thing your News Feed doesn’t seem to tell is when you brushed your teeth and changed your underwear. However, there are a limited amount of privacy settings for what shows up in the News Feed. I’d like to turn the damn thing off sometimes. Or how about letting me pick who actually shows up in my News Feed?

In the process, I’m wondering if I want to even use the site for school purposes anymore. It’s getting out of control and even with the bazillion privacy settings that Facebook has, is it really enough?

For example, I’m starting to get event invites from some guy in Spain that I have no clue about, nor is he a friend of mine. Yet, if you were to do a search for me, you’d only be able to poke me. You can’t request my friendship, you can’t send me a message, and you can’t get a limited view of my profile. Yes, I have my Facebook profile on lockdown! Still, this guy from Spain was able to spam me with an event invite. How in the hell did that happen?

It’s just too easy to stalk someone on Facebook. I miss the days when Facebook was exclusive. I miss the days where all of your changes weren’t broadcasted to the world on Facebook. I miss the days, when Facebook intimate, safe, and trustworthy. Now, I’m not sure what to entrust in Facebook.