Pictures of Your Children on the WWW

Updated on March 23, 2011
M.S. asks from Dallas, TX
13 answers

On a recent thread, many mothers expressed concerns about having their children's pictures posted online/facebook/<insert social media tool name here>. I'm sure you mom's have a wide variety of reasons, am I'm curious what they are. Please share.

Edited with my take: I don't have a problem with my baby boy being on Facebook- but then, I have my settings VERY tight and constantly evaluate them. I was the one who made the fridge comment because, I assume that others only friend people they know, and would allow into their home, as I do. I also make sure to ask each person's permission before I post pictures or tag pictures, because I know some people have concerns about it- I've just never had the courage to ask specifically what people's issues were :)

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D.H.

answers from Louisville on

Thanks, Betty - hadn't heard that one yet, so will be waiting to see how many FB posts come thru about it!

1 mom found this helpful

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H.W.

answers from Portland on

I agree with Betty O: whatever a person posts on Fb becomes their property. I don't want my son's photo being sold as a stock photo or used for anything else. He's a child.

As a fairly private person, I want the choice as to when my son's picture appears online. (My sisters have used it on their blogs, but only there, where they still retain the rights to it.) It really bothers me that posting pics of other people's children is being passed off a 'new norm' and that people who don't want their child's photos up are treated by some others as touchy, overly-sensitive, or behind the times. I'm concerned by the mindset that "well, everyone else is doing it, so it must be the 'way of the world'". I find that an insult to my intelligence. In fact, I find it insulting to anyone's intelligence. Social networking sites are only in their infancy. We don't yet know what the widespread social ramifications are of having our relationships 'digitized'. There have been a lot of 'popular' ideas in the past that haven't fared well, either. Look at history if you want a few examples....

In as much as I am responsible for decisions regarding my son's health and diet, schooling, and how he spends his days, I also feel that it's MY CHOICE as his parent that our friends and family respect my request. No, I can't check up on them, as I'm not on Fb, but I also hope that someone will value my relationship more than their Fb page.

Added later: Betty just proved my point! Thanks! (Nice to know that I'm not indeed that Paranoid Old Luddite!)

3 moms found this helpful
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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

FB privacy is a joke. I don't want the world to have access to my child. A cute picture for Grandma now is a perv's dream when she's innocently frolicking around in her bathing suit. Etc. I also don't believe that your whole life needs to be online and that people should be able to choose (and not have chosen for them) what THEY put out for the world. It is not someone else's place to decide that my kid needs to be on a website.

3 moms found this helpful
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A.G.

answers from Albuquerque on

I am the one who posted about in laws putting my kids on facebook. My m-i-l will friend anyone on facebook, and i mean anyone. Im not comfortable with the world being able to see my kids. And i admit i do like to be able to control anything involving my kids, and someone other than me posting my kids pics on the internet is putting things out of my control. Im probably just being overprotective but i would prefer to keep my family pictures private

2 moms found this helpful
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B.O.

answers from Portland on

I just wanted to comment on the "security" of FB pics. First, anything you post, including pics, becomes the property of FB, and then they own the copyright to it. It is in the fine print you click to start the account. Second, each page is permanently loaded onto the web. Meaning that even if you delete the account, the pages from it existing can be found 20 years later. And it is fairly easy to get around the security settings for privacy on FB. Not that any of these deters me from having an account, I just wanted to share what I knew about your so called "privacy" and "security".

UPDATE: Just logged into my FB and got this warning from a friend, just to prove this point:

FACEBOOK'S BEING SNEAKY AGAIN ~ On Friday, Facebook will start using your photos in ads that will appear on the profile page of your contacts. It's legal and is mentioned in the fine print when you create your account. To STOP this do the following: Account, Account Settings, Then click on Facebook Ads (TAB), choose "No One" on the drop-down menu and save changes! Copy this and use in a status update.**PASS ALONG**

2 moms found this helpful

L.C.

answers from Washington DC on

No pictures on the web - ever.
My husband is very safety conscious.
If anyone wants pictures of the kids, I send them via Snapfish or in a Christmas card.
LBC

1 mom found this helpful

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

M.:

It's not that I have a problem with it - I just don't like people I don't know personally looking at my children - there are just enough sickos out there that they could get enough information from a picture to locate my home....I know - a tad bit overboard - but really....

I keep my family pictures on FB in a different security setting than I do for my other pics - of just me and the hubby, friends, etc. I always ASK FIRST before I post a pic of someone else. Just as a courtesy.

I know someone had mentioned that we allow family to put pics of our children on their fridge - yep, that's true - but for the most part - the people that see those pics are trusted individuals.

I hope this helps....what's your take?

1 mom found this helpful
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J.K.

answers from Phoenix on

I don't have a problem with sharing pictures on FB or other medias. I also have video's on Youtube of my family and dance class. I've never had a problem with bad comments or anything inappropriate. I have it set up to where it's just family and friends who see it but on youtube, others can as well. It's just harder to find. I also have a blog that has pictures and videos as well. I find that I can hardly get anyone to view the stuff I post...LOL Only grandma. I don't think people are that interested in other people's kids unless they stand out or something... I know they caution teens not to post inappropriate photos of themselves because that will go around to the wrong hands like crazy. But I don't think that applies to regular pictures... only those embarrassing ones.

1 mom found this helpful
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S.E.

answers from La Crosse on

You should also be aware that if your photo was taken with a cell phone...there are GPS options (on some phones) that can tell exactly where the photo was taken, when, etc. called geotagging. Every time you take a photo it allows someone to tell exactly where you were and when the photo was taken. Taking a cute photo of your child playing at the table could lead a potential criminal right to your door...and many people dont even know about this option.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2010/10/07/gps-on-cell-phone-...

1 mom found this helpful
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R..

answers from Chattanooga on

I have posted hundreds of pictures and dozens of videos of my DD on facebook. My family lives on the other side of the country, and this is the only way that I can let them watch her grow up. I do have the highest security settings on my albums, but even if someone does get around that... they aren't pictures I am alarmed about strangers seeing. I have NEVER put enough info out on the internet that someone seeing her pics would know how to find her. Even in private conversations with friends, I don't put that out. I figure that if I don't freak out about strangers seeing her when we are at the grocery store, park, mall, whatever.... why does it matter so much if strangers happen see pictures of her online? As far as the new FB advertisement thing goes... the only pictures they are using are your profile pictures, which are visible to the entire world anyway. And they only get posted to YOUR contacts, so it's not as if the people seeing the ads don't have access to the pics anyway.

1 mom found this helpful
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P.F.

answers from Dallas on

Today I deleted all of my kids photos from my FB account. Too many "alerts" about privacy issues today. Just not worth it anymore.

1 mom found this helpful
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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

.

L.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

I have pics of my child on my FB; but my profile is completely buttoned down to friends only (and not friends of friends). Across the board.

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