All my exes live in cyberspace

I'm a big fan of Facebook. I love that I can keep in touch with friends and family I wouldn't otherwise talk to. I enjoy looking at other people's photos and commenting on statuses. I appreciate that more than 500 people have called me friend.

Facebook has even changed the face of dating. No longer are we forced to trust our well-meaning friends when they talk about a guy's great personality when trying to arrange a blind date, because chances are, he has a Facebook profile we can peruse. We can discover his hobbies, likes and dislikes, and, if we're really lucky, we may stumble onto a few hundred photos of him to browse.

But one of the thorniest issues to me is whether or not to friend your exes. Granted, it's fun to look at their profiles and see if they've gained weight or lost hair, but do you really want to know what he's doing 24/7 unless you're stalking him?

Someone I know has an ex who sends her a friend request every Thanksgiving and she's declined it five years running. I suppose the phrase "I never want to talk to you again" didn't sink in for him.

I admit to being friends with a couple of exes on Facebook, one of whom occasionally makes comments on my wall that make me uncomfortable. I didn't really have a problem accepting his friend request since I'm totally over him and am genuinely happy for him on his marriage, and I don't spend hours pouring over his posts and tracking his every move. That's probably because things didn't end badly. In fact, I don't even remember why we broke up. But that doesn't mean that his wife would find it cool that he's sending private messages to his ex-girlfriend. And I don't find it cool, either.

One of my exes actually has a fan page on Facebook (throwing up in my mouth here). I've never received an invite to become a fan (trust me, I am so not a fan), but a friend of mine did, and he found it hilarious before hitting "decline."

So yeah, I may spend time looking at profiles of exes on Facebook, but do I accept their friend requests? On one condition: if I no longer wish them ill. After all, I'd rather be updated about random people I barely know than ones I know too well and regret wasting time on.