As I have said in the past I’m not a particular fan of the way Facebook goes about it’s business in regard to privacy. They have got better, but you still have to make sure that Facebook’s idea of what you want to share is the same as yours.
Please check your privacy settings and adjust them accordingly. http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/how-to-set-facebook-privacy-settings/ (go and do that now, I’ll wait).
I was a bit of a fan of alternatives like Diaspora and Google+ , but neither have really taken hold (although I like the G+ communities). There are also a number of smaller, more private networks around.
The latest network gaining some buzz is Ello, which claims it won’t track your data and is Ad-free. At present it’s still invite only.
It seems to have gained a toe-hold in the LGBT community (mainly around the ability to have accounts in both your real name and your ‘alternate’ name). It’s still in it’s infancy and needs work, for example, it doesn’t have any blocking function to stop online bullies (a fairly big one).
Also, it promotes itself as “porn friendly”, so, not one for your education provider to get behind.
For now, this one to watch, not get involved with. It needs to tick off a lot more items on its ‘Upcoming Features’ list before I’d go near it.
Here’s a bit more info from TechCrunch. http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/25/ello-ello-new-no-ads-social-network-ello-is-blowing-up-right-now/