Doctors are being warned not to respond to flirtatious approaches on social networking sites.
The Medical Defence Union, a legal body for doctors, said communicating via sites such as Facebook may be a breach of ethical responsibilities.
It issued the warning after a number of cases in which patients propositioned doctors after searching for their details on the internet.
Teachers and lecturers may want to think about how they use Facebook in light of this; and it would be advised that they check their visibility and security settings in Facebook.
This is not about not using Facebook, I know many teachers who do, but to consider the implications of sharing information beyond your Facebook friends, and what information is available publicly.