To not understand why so many mumsnetters are against people posting pics of children on Facebook!?

[thedavidsons]

I don't get it. Facebook is amazing for memories, everything is so easy to organise and track, I couldn't imagine not having pics of my children on there. I don't understand why so many mumsnetters are against it!?

It's unnecessary to share so much on FB when there are so many other ways to share photos of your DCs with friends and family. How would you feel if your photos were on a billboard or the side of a bus in public view. That's how I view photos on social media.

I don't post photos of my DC, for many of the reasons discussed up thread.
It's funny (in a sad way) when people say "my Facebook account is locked down" ......they haven't got a clue!
This is the situation we end up with when people are simply mindless consumers/users of tech, with a lack of understanding around the basics.

I think it is a security thing. I don't want people I don't know knowing who my child is, how old he is and his name. I respect his right to privacy. Yes you can change the settings but I'm not taking any chances.

I feel like you're the type who tick that you don't consent to the school using their photos either?

The judgemental tone of that question really annoys me!

How bloody rude of you to talk about about someone being a 'type' of person.....

Your immaturity is showing.

I'd feel so guilty if my dds in 10 years time asked me why I posted photos of them as kids.

Facebook owns the photos and can do whatever they want with them.

In the future employers will have photo recognition and will be able to find your kids before even inviting them to interview. What if they don't like what they find.

Who's to say one of your 'friends' won't take the photos and re-post them to their page so people you don't know, with more lax security settings will see them??

I can see both sides as I used to be one of those that posted loads of baby photos. Then as my kids got more of their own personality and thus identity it got me thinking.

Also, they have had no choice in you giving away their right to privacy.

Even though I've deleted many of those past photos, they are probably still in facebooks database. What if my dds become famous, prime minister or social worker? Hopefully I haven't ruined anything for them.

It's just strange that people think that it's ok to post stuff online that they wouldn't share with others in person. We will soon be seeing the annual snapshots of little johnnies school report with #proudmummy all over FB. However I've never had a mum come to me at school pick up to share the content of their DCs report

zoemaguire you are showing your ignorance. If someone wanted to stalk they would. Perhaps your community groups give away where you live. Maybe a friend has commmeted on your kid's primary school fair. Now the stalker knows whereabouts you live and the school your kid probably goes to.

Following on from another thread on here, what are people's views on child modelling/acting etc. Presumably again the child hasn't given consent, and the pictures are in the public domain forever so I wondered how people viewed that?

Well yes puckered, they could. A stalker could also follow you and your children home from school. Luckily, both eventualities are exceedingly unlikely, so just like you choose to leave the house with your children every day, so I decide that I'm happy posting photos of them to my friends online. A crazed stalker hunting a child down in real life on the basis of a random photo posted on the internet by their parent - seriously? You have heard of such a thing happening?! Id save all your worrying for when your child goes online for themselves - because you do know online stalkers tend to target kids directly, not go via their doting parents. It drives me crazy when people with zero ability to rationally analyse risk start accusing others of reckless parenting, when that very inability to analyse risk is probably putting their own child in harms way in ways they probably have no idea about. It's a bit like the people saying 'how dare you let your child walk to the corner shop with all the paedos waiting to pounce' while merrily putting their toddlers in forward-facing car seats. Madness.

Zoe
For you the idea of a crazed stalker hunting a down a child on FB is far fetched but for some people this danger is a real risk either because of their job or personal circumstances. I have a family member who's job involves dealing with some real nasty people who threaten to track his family down and this is the reality for many people.

I am also aware that the real danger is when DCs go online themselves m. This is why I choose to set a good example by not putting pictures of them online because these images are then no longer mine.

Obviously if you have particular risk factors then you take precautions accordingly! But we are talking average members of the public here. If you start talking about particular circumstances almost anything can be horrifically unsafe. 'Should I let my 14yo walk 100m to the corner shop?' 'Nooo they would get run over while crossing the 6-lane motorway right next to your house'