This probably won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who knows me, but I’m not much on Facebook. Outside of using it on occasion for work-related duties, I don’t spend much time obsessing about farms that don’t exist or Mafia Wars. Every once in a while I might put up a picture of the kids or use it to communicate with someone for a story we’re working on, but if you want to know what I had for lunch, you probably won’t find it on the internet.

Likewise, maybe you aren’t too inclined to keep track of people’s birthdays by email alert.

But, given the story from Graves County in recent days, maybe it’s a good idea to keep track of what your loved ones are posting.

Luckily, the 14-year-old missing Mayfield teen was found. Unfortunately, it was in Shreveport, La., after traveling there with a 29 year old.

The two met, according to investigators, through Facebook.

Social networking is a good thing at times. It allows us to stay connected to people we otherwise couldn’t, or to be reminded of friends we don’t normally see. But just like anything else, it also has applications, which are sometimes abused by those with less than wholesome intent.

Sure, no teen likes a parent or family member’s intrusion, especially into something so private as Facebook posts (which are, some assume, not out there to be seen by everybody). But that’s one of the down sides of being a parent. Sometimes you can’t be their Facebook friend, you have to be the one looking out for them from over their shoulder.