Do you post pictures of your children online?

Question

I noticed that many of my friends post pictures of their infants online, mostly on Facebook and MySpace. Some have it open to the public and others have it private so only their friends can view it.

Do you think it is dangerous to post pictures on a website where ANYONE can access it?

In the old days the pedophile had to get off his butt and drive to the park to hunt for new children to become infatuated with, now he can just search on the web in the privacy of his own home.

What are your thoughts? Am I being too paranoid?

Answer 1

I don`t think that it has ever happened that a pedophile have traced a photo of a toddler on the Internet. Why should he/she do it? Toddlers are normally never left unattended so he/she would never be able to come close to your child. Another thing is that only 0,01% of peadophiles ( as pedophilia is defined today ) are interested in infants and toddlers. The chance of a pedophile, bc of a photo on the internet, coming and snapping your child away is the same as getting a meteor in the head. In the unlikely event that a person should get "turned on" whatching a photo of your child can not be dangerous in any way, it can only be uncomfortable for your mind. Do you ever leave your house with your child? It would be the same danger bc people are looking at your child. Now you can decide for yourself if you are paranoid, or not.

Answer 2

Well i have both my twins on You tube and have done for ages now mostly its Autism awareness videos of my twin son i post but they are all just pictures (fully clothed) and videos of him, also of his twin sister ...i don't think its dangerous to do this just don't put personal info on them

Answer 3

I don't think you're being too paranoid... I, personally, would not post pictures of my children on a website that anyone and everyone can see. Even though I don't have children of my own yet, out of respect for my friends who do I will not post pictures of their children where everyone can see them. I just don't think it's safe. It's too easy for people to figure out where and who you are if they really want to.

Answer 4

i have pictures of my litlle girl - sophie, 11mos - on my bebo page.

but my page is now private, it used to be public. but my picture albums with my daughter or other kids in them are always private, only visible to my friends.

i think its ok as long as they know who is viewing it, ie people on their friends list, but its irresponsible if they let just anyone see it.

Answer 5

I don't see a problem with it in a controlled environment. I understand your concern so I can't say you're being paranoid. Whenever I post pictures I use online albums like Snapfly. It lets you load pictures and share them with the people YOU want to share them with. The only other place I would post pic of my kids is on my pregnancy website. Everyone does it so I feel very safe. Truth be told... sexual predators are everywhere and where there's a will there's a way. Some things can't be avoided but I think there are safe places... I'm not a fan of myspace and I definitely see the concern there.

Answer 6

Hi,

I don't actually have any kids yet, but i agree with you, when i do have kids, i am NOT going to post pictures of them online..... I have a friend who has one of those networking sites and she is constantly updating her little girls pictures, she has a new folder each month - Kasey 1 month old, Kasey 2 months old etc! So you can basically see this poor child grow up online...... This is really do not agree with!!

I had this discussion with my boyfriend, he said 'what you mean that i can't post pics of our kids online' and i said 'i would appreciate it if you didn't' ..... Fair enough i think!!

xx

Answer 7

I have picture on my myspace, but I don't and won't use my real name because of this fear.

Answer 8

I don't think you are paranoid at all! I am amazed at people who do this...not only can weirdo's find where people live REALLY easily...but they can also take images and "doctor" them into innapropriate scenes....people are so naieve about this. My friend put one of my childs images on her myspace page and I asked her to remove it straight away...my friend was so offended and I could tell by her reaction that she thought I was over-protective....but so what? I would NEVER risk it.

Answer 9

My daughter is 8 and I don't even mention her on my sites... not her name, not her picture.  Its too easy to find someone in real life based on facebook and myspace, I don't want to take the chance.  all my friends know her, and see her on a regular basis... and if i have a cute picture, I'll just email it to them.

Answer 10

I'm not too keen on letting total strangers look at your kids but I dont mind it when it's just for friends. When I have a baby I plan on posting on facebook as I live far from my friends and family and it's an easy way to share with them. I just love it when my friends post their kiddy pics up! Only way I can get to know them till I visit.

Answer 11

I was at first when I first got a myspace but then the private profile was available. After that I put pics of my kids so my long-distance family and friends can see them.

Before that though i didn't do it.

Answer 12

i think you might be a little to paranoid but in this sick world you have to be.yes i put pictures of my kids on my myspace but i keep them private.i have family in different states and it is a great way to keep them updated.i know i could just email the pics but i just do it this way.i don't post what city i live in.and i don't think they can do much with a picture.although now that you have mentioned it and i thought about it i am no longer going to post pics of my kids as defaults (the one that is public) because there are things the sick f*ck can do with a picture.i guess people never think about it.and i also don't ad people to the "friends" list only my family and close friends.

basically i think it is okay as long as you don't put your city or maybe even your state and keep them to where only friends can see.in most cases...

Answer 13

I do, its no big deal to me.   I only ever came across one issue.  In my parenting group on AOL when my daughter was first born (5 years go) we all posted pics of our kids.  A year and a half later a girl comes in and emails pictures of her 'twins'. Low and behold there is Bellamy and my friends son...her 'twins'.  If you're going to be an idiot and steal pictures, at least don't send them to the person you stole them from!!!  That's all I would be careful about.  The best thing to do is set your albums to friends only, that way you can control who see's what.