Access Granted?

Who do you allow on your social media accounts? Family only? Friends? Acquaintances? Fans? Colleagues? Everyone?!

While my Twitter is of course public, my FB is not. I've done some culling and it is now limited to just friends and family and a limited number of acquaintances. I might share an article or two publicly, but for the most part my information, status updates, and images are only accessible to a select few ;)

IG is a funny thing, though. It seems to exist in a middle ground between FB and Twitter. While it has a privacy setting to approve or deny people from following one's feeds, there is also a culture that accepts, and even encourages, being "followed" and "following" people like celebrities and fellow bloggers. It's not quite designed to be a private gallery space, but rather a partially public bulletin board.

It is in this space that I wrestle a bit with boundaries. I know that sometimes, there are people who read this blog who wish to see my IG pics because they feel kind of invested in my little family. I also know that there are some people who want to access my IG images because they've seen my comments on others' pictures, and are either curious about me or are critical of me based on these comments (which are entirely favourable, BTW; I make it a habit not to be a negative troll-type on IG). In the past, I've allowed access to other bloggers and mommies that I "know" online, but now I hesitate to grant access to anyone who I am not completely familiar with. I worry that the intention of wanting to see my pics is less than sincere, and I just don't wish to put Little L and I under some random person's microscope for no discernible reason. Am I being paranoid, or just reasonably cautious here? In denying requests, I do feel a bit guilty, since there is always the possibility that the person in question just wants to be my online friend.

Who do you allow on your IG feed? Have you ever had a gut-feeling that someone wants to befriend you on FB or follow your other social media for some nefarious reason? How do you determine whether someone's motives are sincere? Any feedback is appreciated!