A teacher - trying to protect my identity from so many students.?

[Mabel]

I have been teaching for many years, and would like to join Facebook to catch up with many long lost friends etc. I must clarify right from the start that I'm not very literate with Facebook and that there are many things that I don't know eg: everywhere I go I read "Like us on Facebook" I have no idea what is meant by this. Anyway, if I do open an account with Facebook is there anything that I can do to limit the number of students who I may come across as a result of joining? I believe that you must set up your profile, must you provide your date of birth, your age, marital status etc? I don't mind sharing this with friends and acquaintances but I have no interest in the entire student body knowing. Can anybody check your profile? Is is exposed for everybody to see? I'm from Australia, therefore could I upload a picture of a kangaroo if I wanted instead of my photo? For a complete beginner to Facebook, are there any pitfalls that I should be aware of? Many of these questions may seem so ludicrous but I'm new to this and would appreciate any feedback.