Facebook tags are a nice way to call out friends or flag who everyone is in a group photo, but tags can also easily drop you in the deep end if people share crazy party photos or tag you in on unflattering jokes or comments.
The good news is that you can control exactly what happens when people try to tag you. Under Facebook's Privacy Settings, click on "How Tags Work". This lets you do exactly what it says on the box — change how tags work, so only you or select groups of friends will ever be able to see them.
First, you can set up a review system so that you get to veto or approve every time you're tagged in something. You can also change whether or not the posts that you are tagged in will ever appear on your Timeline to other people.
Finally, you can decide whether or not a friend can check you in to a place on your behalf. It's good to turn that one off if you're sneaking off to the cricket after calling in sick.