A Facebook Friend Request with a Locked Profile — What Am I Supposed to Do?

Everyone on Facebook loves a bit of buzz. More followers, more friend requests — the more, the… hao (*) .

Online sellers know this best: the more friends you have, the more orders you get — and the happier the delivery guys ‍♂️.

But in a world where real and fake accounts are all mixed together, accepting friend requests can’t be too casual. Whenever I receive a request from a stranger — or even someone who looks vaguely familiar — I still click into the profile, checks a few recent activities, and quietly ask myself:

• Do I actually know this person?
• Is this a “real” account?
• Do we share any interests or common ground?

If a quick scroll shows nothing in common, it becomes a little awkward. Awkward to accept the wrong person — and awkward to decline someone who might genuinely mean well.

For example, I used to work in banking and still loves cycling ‍♂️. Most of my Facebook friends are either from the banking–finance–trade world, or at least into sports — swimming, cycling, running ‍♂️‍♀️‍♂️.
Getting a friend request is always nice, but if the profile and activities show no overlap at all, I usually have to leave the Confirm button untouched… otherwise we’d just end up staring at each other’s posts, not knowing what to say .

And let’s be honest — Facebook is a double-edged sword. Share too much, and you attract the wrong kind of attention . That’s why many people choose to lock their profiles for safety, which is perfectly understandable.
But when a profile is completely locked, how is anyone supposed to decide whether to accept a friend request — based only on a name and a profile photo taken ten years ago (!?) ?

Being careful on Facebook is wise. Being too careful, however, makes it hard to make new friends.
So please understand me – Mr. Old Man: when a friend request comes with very little information, I may have to leave it there — no Confirm button clicked .

A Facebook friend request with a locked profile — what am I supposed to do?
It’s not that I am cold or unfriendly — it’s just that, at this age, even making friends is a matter of fate .

—-

Mr. Old Man

(*) Wordplay: A playful twist on “the more, the merrier.”
“The don’t, the hao” (Vietnamese-style pun) means the more people there are, the more it costs .

P/S: Locked profiles are great for keeping scammers away —
unfortunately, they also keep potential friends guessing .