Do you post pic of your children's faces online / judge people who do / don't and why ?

[sicklye]

I occasionally post pics of my kids on FB and instagram.

Maybe once or twice a year. I occasionally do stories too. Maybe 3 to 4 times a year.

I decided that if it wasn't too often, it would be fine.

Some people never post at all or some blur out the faces.

Others post daily.

What's your stance on this and what are you reasons for posting / not posting / blurring out faces ?

When you share with anyone, you are sharing with anyone that they want to share with. I had an aunt who would screenshot every picture of anyone and share it to god knows who... people she talked to once on a crafters group in America etc.
Once a picture is online, it could be anywhere. No matter how secure you think you are being.

Genuine question: why does that matter? If I'm only sharing non-embarrassing photos, what harm would come of my aunt sharing it with her friends or a random lady in America?

The chances of a paedophile going to the effort to meet a friend of a friend’s toddler based on some mundane photos of them at the park is surely minute.

We posted pictures of our kids when they were younger.
People seem to have a fear that a pedophile will see them on their SM, think ‘oh I like the look of that kid’ and then somehow work out where they go to school or their address.

In public it's totally dependent on the specific circumstances whether they could do anything about it. Taking photos of people in public place is legal.

@ClonedSquare agreed completely

I remember someone on my Facebook many years ago putting a photo of herself as a child, with her siblings, in a paddling pool.
All the children were naked and you could see a child's penis.
Reported it ro Facebook. Apparently, it didn't breach community standards, or whatever it was called back then. 🤬

Yes I do.

Not I don't judge others for making different decisions to me.

I hate anyone sharing pictures of their children online. Especially in the bath, when they are ill, showing school uniform or sharing private medical information like ADHD diagnosis. I am glad there seems to be more parents not doing it. Celebrities are the worst, they overshare everything for money.

No, never. I would have hated random friends of my parents to see photos of me as a child, so I extend the same courtesy to my own children. I really don't see any reason to post pics of children online.

Yes on my FB which is only visible to friends and family and in messenger and WhatsApp again to friends and family. My sons are in their 20s and are fine with it.

I actually had pictures of them on my profile on here about 20 years ago! Would I do that now? No.

Re other people. I don't think anything because I don't much care what other people do unless it's illegal or abusive.

None of my kids, millions of my dogs.

My teen dd has a tiktok with tens of thousands of followers and doesnt ever post her face/wants to remain anonymous, so I'm very glad I haven't or she would probably be easier to track down.

I do post pics of my kids but my profile is locked down to friends only. I don’t judge people who don’t. Their rules

Probably because an adult posted a picture of themselves and their siblings as children. Not sure it's a safeguarding matter

I work in a role that works with sex offenders. They can be very tech savvy and are very much the person next door. I wonder how social media companies ensure that their staff are not able to access accounts that we think are private.

Photos yes. Rarely. But not in school uniform with a visible logo, outside our house with the door number or street on display etc.

I follow a woman on Instagram who is terrible for this. I realised a while ago that without trying I knew her and her kids’ names, and could piece together their birthdays, address, details of her job and what school the kids go to. And when they are away on holiday / what they do most weekends.

I don't! But I also don't post pics of myself either.

I do wonder why people enjoy sharing every little detail of their life - there's one girl I'm friends with from school (haven't seen her for almost 20 years!) And I know all about her daughters medical diagnosis, what school she goes to, behaviour problems the works. It's maddness.

Someone I know has her image in a meme, due to a relative sharing.

memes can also just about destroy your life.

Regardless of how locked down your social media is, if you post something online it is no longer yours. What might be a harmless, sweet, funny video or photo shared with 'friends' can be saved, screenshot and shared. I have never posted pictures of my DCs. For me personally it has never been worth the risk and I simply do not understand parents who are so protective in other ways but at the same time post chapter and verse about their children online.

I don’t understand why anybody would post the back of their children’s heads, it seems bizarre to me.

I post occasional photos on Facebook but never anything that I would consider embarrassing if it was me in the photo. I will always have to make the major decisions about what happens in ds's life so deciding if/what to post is only another one of those.

I don't post specifically about my son's disabilities but it is pretty apparent he is severely disabled and I don't think that is something that needs to be hidden.

I don't like photos of toddlers just in nappies etc or 'autism moms' etc who write in great detail about their identifiable child.

@ClonedSquare

Genuine question: why does that matter? If I'm only sharing non-embarrassing photos, what harm would come of my aunt sharing it with her friends or a random lady in America?

My issue was consent. It might matter to the children in those photos. It did matter to mine. It might matter a lot more to them when they are adults and those photos 'are out' there for any number of reasons. It would be nice if the internet was just a handful of friends or relatives sharing a few photos, but it's not

This is entirely my view. I used to follow quite a few influencers but the turning point for me was when the wife of a pop star posted a pic of their young child on a potty and gave a whole spiel about their potty training woes - there was literally no thought to the dignity of that child and how they may feel in future years.

I used to post a few pictures now and then to my facebook that was locked to 15-20 people I knew, most who used facebook rarely and in a similar way.

I don't really judge or think about others doing the kind of posting I used to do.

I haven't posted any pictures of them in a few years, I've just become more wary of it as they've become/are near adulthood and stories of things like pictures becoming memes causing huge problems or used in AI things. I did and still ask before posting things about them, though I keep it down to first initial these days.

I do judge a bit with someone I'm no longer friends with who used to go on long rants about internet safety and kids' consent, but posted hundreds of pictures and videos - had monthly roundups with 60-70 pictures plus daily videos and often pictures - in a publicly accessible way, often with other people's kids in them too including mine without asking them if they're okay with that. I don't think she's trying to be an influencer and she could be a very kind person, but the contrast between words and actions - as well as between what's getting posted and reality behind the scenes - it got a bit much.

I don’t post anything of my DC. My close friends and family got a pic and birth announcement via WhatsApp private messages.

I don’t because I’m pretty private anyway and it’s also about consent. I’d never post a pic on a potty or something like that, which I feel is down to dignity and respect. If I was to post, it may be them blowing out their candles on their birthday or something - that’s the kind of thing I will send to my close family privately. There’s also of course the issues I’m hearing about more and more like photos being manipulated, deep fakes etc. Thankfully, my husband and I are totally aligned and he sadly feels this way having experienced abuse by a family member who seemed like the most decent person. So unfortunately it’s not just strangers to be wary of of course.

I must say though I do judge when people post any photos of children without clothes on or of their soiled nappy or something, even in group chats like NCT ones.

I also judge people on here who post pictures of their children, eg when they’re poorly. I just can’t understand why they would.

Our first is due in a few weeks and we've already had the discussion. If we do post the occasional picture it won't be identifying and it will be restricted (ie: my 'close friends' list on Facebook is about 12 people).

There are a couple of people I follow on instagram that I know very vaguely but who seem perfectly comfortable for me and god knows who else to see multiple daily pictures and stories of their babies and toddlers.

Call me over the top but I've already warned my Mother (who has boundary issues) that she can show pictures to friends / colleagues etc but if I get wind that she's actually sent pictures on to anyone except immediate family she'll never be sent another one. I find the idea of random people I don't know have pictures of our child saved in their camera roll really unsettling.