Using the Groups feature
Another option is to create a Group. A Facebook Group is different from a list,
because a Group is separate from the main Facebook grid. When you create a
Group, you're the administrator of it, and you can limit status updates,
photos, videos and any other content to only people in that Group. Groups can
be any subset of your Facebook friends such as members of your family, a
sports club, schoolmates or any other grouping you desire.
Safety Point: Be aware that any member of a Group can add members,
which means that membership can get out of control very fast. The
administrator can always delete members, but it can get hard to keep up
when/if things go viral, after which it’s hard to maintain control over
information shared to the group.
One difference between Groups and Lists is that any member of a Group can
add members. All members can see the names of all other members but
because any member can add a member, it is possible that people who
perhaps shouldn’t be in the Group could be added by another member. For
example, if you had a Group made up of people on your football team, there
would be nothing to stop one member from adding someone not on the team,
and then that member could add more people. The only way to keep that from
happening is for the administrator to stay aware of the membership list (more
on that in a moment). Only administrators can remove members.
Another important point about Groups is that people can be added to a group
who are not on your Friends list and anything you post in that group will be
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seen by all Group members, including people who are not your Facebook
friends.
Reputation Point: It’s very important that you familiarize yourself with
the subjects of Groups (or the type of information shared and whether it’s
appropriate for your child), because – as you’ll see shortly – the names and
membership even of Closed Groups can be public information. Users will
want to think about how their Group memberships reflect on them.
To set up a Group
1. The easiest way to set up a Group is to go to
www.facebook.com/groups/. Then click on Create Group.
2. Give the Group a name, and start typing in the names of initial
members. You can always add members later, and you can also rename
the Group.
3. Designate if the Group should be Open, Closed or Secret.
● Closed (the default) means that the membership list is public
but the content is private (available only to members). Also,
when you create the Group and add people, that information
shows up on your News Feed, so even though others can’t join
without an invitation, they might know the group exists and
who is in it (and maybe feel left out).
● Open means that both the content and membership are public.
● Secret (the most private) hides both the members' names and
the content.
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Safety, Privacy & Reputation Point: We recommend that young people
seriously consider making their Groups secret. They can still invite their
friends, and members can still add other friends, but this allows for better
privacy and possibly less peer abuse because the Group and its members
won’t show up on a Facebook search or in someone’s News Feed.
The list of Groups that you are in (regardless of who created them) is in the
left column of your Home page.
Your Facebook Groups are listed on your home page.
Seeing who is in your Group
You can always see who is in any group you are in by clicking on the Group
name in the left column of your Home page.
After clicking on the Group, click See All for a complete list of members. This is
also the place where you can add members or leave the Group. Administrators
can remove members of the Group.