Hellobee Boards

I've been trying to be more careful about not posting too many pictures of DS (and soon to be LO) all over the internet. My reasoning is basically because I'm not asking them permission to do it when I do, and by the time they're grown up, who knows how many pictures of them are already all over the internet. I do post some, for certain occasions, but not nearly as much as I used to. It's not really for protecting me, but for protecting them.

I'm most concerned about identity theft online.

Here on HB, however, I agree with @purpledaisy. I'm a really private person IRL although I tend to be more open on HB since I am anonymous. I don't feel comfortable sharing any pics, but I do and will share other personal information.

I'm not overly concerned with it here. I post pictures and use my LO's name on non-gold threads. My IG and Facebook are private though. I belong to a few online communities and I've made some wonderful friends through them, so I don't worry about it.

I feel like I should be more careful that if someone was trying to stalk me I would be pretty easy to track down. My full name is on a FB group that I'm in, but in reality I must be too trusting because I don't see that happening. I do try not to post pics of LO on non-Gold threads anymore, but she's out there (including my picture.)

I wasn't worried much at all before. I only posted pics on Gold threads, had a private FB and IG, etc. Then my husband and I were targeted by someone he arrested - Facebook hate page and all - and I am working on removing a lot of my online presence.

I am not private at all. I feel like it's easier to either be totally private, or not at all private. I mean, I don't post my real name in threads here, but I have posted watermarked photos from my photography business quite a few times and if you googled the watermark you'd find out exactly who I am, what I do, etc. I just don't really see a problem with it because I don't post anything online (here, wedding bee, Facebook, my blog) that I wouldn't be cool with an acquaintance or my mom reading. I'm also pretty not private in real life though so there just isn't much off limits for me. I mean, some stuff I post in gold threads are things I wouldn't necessary LOVE if like, my mom saw (like my post yesterday about boobs and breastfeeding and sex). But at the same time, if she did see it I wouldn't feel ashamed. If she wants to go digging then she's going to find what she finds and I am not embarrassed by it, even if I wouldn't choose to have that conversation with her IRL.

I agree with @Dandelion: I'm not overly concerned about my own privacy, but I've been increasingly worried about how many photos I'm putting out of E. I'm not worried about someone stealing or using his photo (although that would upset me) but I am worried that I'm building an internet identity FOR him, without his consent.

It's easy to think that it might not matter, and it's my right anyway as his parent, but is it? He's a toddler now, but he's still a person, and someday, very soon, he'll be able to get online and I worry he'll be upset to discover that his mother has already begun to craft his identity online, even just in the form of pictures.

There's a blogger that I used to read religiously. She's posted hundreds of thousands of photos of her kids online over the past 7 years. From births to the first day of school to divulging intimate details of their personality quirks. And she has an IG, too, and probably post 3-5 pictures a day. It seems like the kids are always "on" and every moment staged for a photo. There was even a photo of her toddler naked in the tub, sent out to 50k+ followers. To my discredit, I didn't think too much of it before I had E, but now that he's here I'm horrified that she's created her own little Truman show on the internet, and I wonder how her children will react when they're older and realize that every.single.moment of their lives have been broadcast to thousands and thousands of internet strangers.

Obviously my "audience" is much smaller. My IG is private, and I "know" everyone on it. I'm trying to start only posting his photo in Gold threads, and only post to FB maybe twice a month. I know it's not enough, and I'm warring between wanting to leave that slate clean for him and the proud mama part of me that wants to show off my gorgeous boy...

Anyway, sorry, that was way off tangent, it's just been something that's increasingly been on my mind.