Today is Defriend Day: Do Facebook game friends count too?

If you were to ask author and political activist Mark Dice, yes, your fellow FarmVille friends probably count. In promotion of his new book, "Big Brother: The Orwellian Nightmare Come True," Dice has called for everyone on Facebook to prune their friends list of people they don't even know. (If you remember, Jimmy Kimmel called for something similar recently.) And Facebook gamers are arguably the largest culprit of adding otherwise anonymous people to their friends list. Not to mention, what if that is your personal account as well? Have you considered these things before aimlessly accepting friend quests for yet another "neighbor?"

Sure, some social gamers play on designated accounts that are essentially on privacy lock down for this very reason, but I'm willing to bet a majority of you game on your personal account. There's no need to put on your tin-foil hats--Dice does enough of that in his new novel. However, the guy has a brilliant point. It's interesting how social gamers are willing to welcome complete strangers into their digital lives.

Think about it: How many of those miscellaneous friends have you come to know on a personal level? Probably little to none, but they might know everything about you. Of course, this depends on how much you share, but considering the amount of data Facebook processes daily I'd imagine you share just as much as I do: a lot. You never know who is looking at your profile. (We're all guilty of Facebook stalking, regardless of how harmless.)

When you think of the amount of estranged Facebook friends you game with, which for some is likely in the hundreds, how does it feel to know they're part of the digital audience of your life? Now, don't freak out and go defriend every unknown person attached to your account. Just think about these things the next time you add a friend to game with or share something on your profile. There are many things in the digital age that are permanent, but gaming buddies don't necessarily have to be. Especially those you don't even know.

[Image Credit: Intermediate 2]

Have you ever considered the friends you add to game with on Facebook? Would you ever prune your friends of those you didn't know?