“There is only one thing in the world worse than being Facebook stalked, and that is not being Facebook stalked.”

For many people who frequent Facebook and other social networking sites, desires for social interaction can override privacy concerns.

On Thursday, California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks hosted a presentation on privacy management in social networking environments led by Dr. Miriam Metzger, an associate communications professor at UC Santa Barbara.

“There is only one thing in the world worse than being Facebook stalked, and that is not being Facebook stalked,” Metzger said, referring to a tongue-in-cheek quote from the satirical 2008 publication, “The Facebook Book.”

Metzger tracked the emergence of Facebook from 2004 to 2006, when it crowded out earlier social networking sites such as Friendster and MySpace to become the fastest-growing site in the world, she said.

By 2008, Facebook communications surpassed e-mail in usage, and in 2009 became the second-most popular Web site after Google, with 350 million users.

“If Facebook were a country, it would be the third-most populous country behind only China and India,” Metzger said.

Privacy issues accrued as the site’s popularity grew, Metzger said. Stories circulated about parents and employers combing through profiles for evidence of dubious shenanigans, or law enforcement and college administrators using profiles to track down underage drinkers or party locales.