Is it safe to upgrade libraries?

[Gilles]

Hello

When running "'pkg_version -v", I notice that some libraries are out
of date, such as the most important glib:

glib-2.14.6                         <   needs updating (port has
2.16.3)

Before I go ahead and run "cd /usr/ports/devel/glib20 ; make ; make
install", I'd like to check what the recommended way is to upgrade
critical applications like this?

As I connect remotely through SSH, I wouldn't want to break this box
and have to drive to the location because it won't run after the
upgrade.

Thank you.