I take a lot of pictures. A LOT. As a (very) amateur photographer, I try to practice every day, experimenting with light, indoor and outdoor settings, and different subjects. I also blog and post on social media, so sometimes these images get shared on these platforms. But 99% of these images don’t see the light of day.
Why?
Well there are a lot of reasons. The first, is because most of them are really bad and you don’t want to see them. I’m still learning, and I have a long way to go. But the second is that I have rules and regulations that I use to self-police to ensure I’m staying true to myself and to my family and friends. There are certain types of posts that are completely off-limits, and I’ll tell you why:
1. Nude or embarrassing pics of my child. I don typically have a camera or phone around the bathtub because of excess thrashing and splashing, but when I do snap the rare tushie pic, it never goes anywhere. The reason I steer clear of these pics is two-fold; obviously there are plenty of creeps on the Internet, and I don’t want these images getting into the wrong hands. That’s a no-brainer. But the other reason is that until my daughter is old enough to use her own voice to decide what she does and does not want shared, I have to be her voice. I think of her as a 16-year-old, deciding whether or not she’d want a particular picture or video of herself on the Internet for all eternity. If I think she wouldn’t, it doesn’t get shared, even if I think it’s super cute.
2. My child’s school. My daughter loves her school and we love everyone there, but I would never compromise her safety or the safety of the other children by sharing that information publicly. That goes for her activity too. These are sacred times and spaces, and I wouldn’t want anyone to know where/when we go there.
3. Where we are while we’re there. I will sometimes snap a pic of us doing something at a particular place, but I will never share it while we’re still there. I know Instagram is supposed to be “instant,” but the platform has evolved significantly, and I don’t believe you lose anything by posting your #widn’s (what I’m doing now) a little after the fact. For safety’s sake, it’s best if people don’t know where you are until after you’re gone, especially when you’re with your kids.
5. Negative things about anyone or anything – family, friends, other businesses. Even thinly veiled vaguegrams are off limits. It’s easy to skew negative for the sake of page views, but it’s not my style. That’s not to say I don’t believe in being open and honest and real; I do. But there’s a difference between being honest and being mean. Being mean or ranty might make you feel better for a moment, but it will truly feel worse in the long run. I always try to handle business disputes behind the scenes, and will only take it to social media if customer service refuses to help or ignores my many attempts to contact. Any personal differences I have, or differences I have with a company I try to work out one-on-one before taking it to the Internet. Anytime I’m feeling a negative emotions towards someone, I try to practice even more kindness, generosity and attitude adjustment, and that’s what makes me feel better, not yelling at them on the internet.
6. Faces of other people’s kids, without their permission. Not everyone’s on board with pictures of their kids floating around the internet. If I’m going to post a photo containing faces of other people’s kids, I always ask first. You never know what someone else is comfortable with.
7. Personal belongings. This includes cars, houses, jewelry, things like that. I love to post images of cool vignettes in my home and well-styled rooms (if I ever have any, ha), and there are plenty of pics of us playing in and around the house, but that’s as far as it goes. I have a house, I have a car, they’re both fine.
Do you have any other topics that are off-limits for social media? Do you agree with these seven?
Some VERY safe tips here, lady. Also? It bothers me when people post pictures of their potty-training children…during training. Know what I mean? :\
I didn’t think about that, probably because we’re not to potty training yet (soon! help! haha) but you’re absolutely right… that definitely falls into that first category!
I totally agree with this list! I have actually even opted out of sharing my daughters face online too. Maybe I’m a paranoid new mom but it just doesn’t feel right to my husband and I at this point, although I know a lot of people disagree with that.
While that’s not one of my rules, you really can never err on the side of too much privacy. Your family, your rules!
Great points! I take a LOT of photos of cars at shows and races, and one of the things I avoid is capturing the license plate. If the shot needs to include it, I make sure to blur it out in post-processing.
That’s an awesome one, and something I don’t think most people think about, especially if their cars are in the background of photos. You don’t want someone to be able to identify you or search your license plate number. Great tip.
Respecting a child’s boundaries is very important. I agree with your list.
I definitely agree with number 5. It’s just bad etiquette. People don’t want to see all that negativity on Instagram xx
Good for you! There’s a lot of things that people post that they really shouldn’t. My biggest pet peeve is family drama and kids naked. It just looks trashy.
#2 and #3 especially are very important!! Glad to see this post – good reminder to all parents about protecting your family on social media.
Great list! I keep things on the DL online most of the time too, especially when my man went hunting for ten days! No reason to let anyone know I was going to be home alone with the baby that long!! Just in case.
That’s a great one! I do that too. I never mention when I’m going to be home alone, just to be safe.
I follow all of these, with #3 being a biggie.
It is a biggie for sure!
I agree with your list. I also take a lot of photos, but I never post this kind of pictures on social media.
Sounds like a lot of people feel that way!
Great tips. I will post negative things on social media if I’m passionate about them but it’s not about page views. I think the older you get, the less you care to always be careful.
Funny, I feel the opposite 🙂 The older I get, the less I’m interested in getting into conflicts and dealing with negativity.
Loving this. Very sensible but some people don’t think about these things.
amen! i don’t even have kids, but i dont get the nude picture thing… like they will get older and those pictures will still be here. I love the reminder about kids safety regarding pictures of whereabouts and school. I will definitely use these tips when I have my own kids!
These are all really good rules to follow, especially with young children. Too many crazy people out there to have to worry about putting anyone in unnecessary dangers.
Definitely agree with the later-gramming of activities away from home. When we went on our cruise last month I said nary a peep on social media leading up to or while we were away–no sense inviting trouble at home while we’re gone, right? Plus, almost all of the photos were on my camera, not my camera-phone, so it was easier not to share in those cases.
My little man’s pictures only are posted either well after the picture was taken or as the back of his head if it’s a public social media page. I also try and hold back on the frustrated with/upset posts a lot more than I used to! I used to be horrible about them!
Social media sharing is a definite struggle for me! For the longest time I didn’t post anything about my kids at all. Now as they are a bit older and see me posting other things, they have asked for me to share certain pictures. I agree with your 7 though. The #latergram is a favorite of mine 🙂
I have never put too much thought into all of that. Good to know and think about though. Safety is so important and when I have kids I will apply these lessons!!! Thanks for sharing !
Danielle Greco
AccordingtoD.com
YESSSSS to all these, except number 7 (no license plates or defining objects though) and ESPECIALLY posting other people’s children without consent! I’ve had photographers post my son (and me) to their social media and I nearly lose my you-know-what! I’ve not blogged about great topics because all my pics included other children – not ok for me to profit or post about them! And all these bloggers who openly tell everyone when and where they’re traveling to makes me so nervous – aren’t they scared they’ll get robbed? Not them, but their empty home or apartment?! My blogging BFF did that last week and I texted her at 6am to tell her to take it down. She was thankful I pointed it out! And I’ve had fellow Dallasites ask me where my son goes to preschool (I mention that he indeed DOES go to school, just not where) but I refuse to tell them because that’s just too much info on his whereabouts, especially when I’m not present to protect him. Ok, I’m rambling. But all great points! I’m sharing to my FB page 🙂
These are some very safe tips. Some people really need to take these tips and use them.
Alexis| http://www.everythingandlex.wordpress.com
Agree! I will post on Instagram in real time if I am at a sponsored event, however. But I definitely err on the safe side when it comes to social media posts.
I completely agree with every point you made here, Esther!
I completely agree with this list. Espeically not posting negative comments about anyone. I see that ALL the time and it is so sad.
Couldn’t agree more! I’m the same way with so many of these. I never tag my location either. You never know who is following you!
Great great safety tips! And I particularly love your “veiled vaguegrams”. One of my internet peeves
I agree, better safe than sorry when posting on social media, especially as your blogger profile increases!
I completely agree with all of these! Such a smart approach!
i agree with all of these.
It’s better to be safe than sorry.
xoxo, Jenny
I waited to post our entire Disneyland trip until the week we got home. I pretty much just acted like we were there, but we were actually home by that point, that way I still got to overgram without feeling risky!
Amen – these things need to stay private!
Oh man, I couldn’t agree more with this approach! As someone who has branded my social media for my blog/small business I am all about sharing life on social media but there are just some things I choose to keep private! And that should be okay with others…for reasons of safety and we don’t need to share every single aspect of our lives with others!
It’s always better to have some principles when it comes to online sharing. Good ones! 🙂
I like that you don’t just post any photo and actually take your child’s safety into consideration.
I always get worried when people post their location and take pictures of their homes with house number in full view. Not everyone on the internet is a “friend”. We definitely need to be cautious with what we post. Shared.
Great tips! I don’t share pics of my little one at all. I think he should have the right to tell me whether he wants his picture shared on social medias and since he’s too little to make a decision like that, I am going to wait till he gets older and we can have a discussion and decide together 🙂 Can’t be too safe these days!
I totally agree with most of these! When I have kids, I think I’ll be a lot stricter with what I post and do not post on social media. Even now, I never post exactly where I am while I’m there. I’ll post the general neighborhood or if I want to geotag the exact location I wait until I’m headed home. Safety first!
LiveLifeWell,
Allison
Love this, totally agree. I don’t share pics of my baby in public online places, like my blog, Twitter, or IG, unless it is the back of his head, for his own privacy. I also typically post “latergrams” or check in as we’re leaving a place.
That’s a great rule too. I know a lot of people do that, or they put a watermark near their child’s head if they do post a face pic. It’s so important to have rules and boundaries that work for you!
I have a house. I have a car. They are both fine. Love it… great reminders of what works and what doesn’t and why.
These are all great ‘rules’ to follow. I especially agree with the first one! Thanks for the tips 🙂
#1 is so important! I don’t think enough moms really stop and think about this enough. Especially on instagram, as there has already been a problem!
I think those are some pretty good things not to post on social media. I will post pics of my kids and will sometimes watermark them but I don’t ever post where we are while we are there. I turn of locations for my posts as well.
These are definitely some things to think about. Great post.
I completely agree with all of these! Especially in regards to kids safety, and the safety of your property while away – I don’t know how many of my friends have posted their holiday pics whilst away, and come back to a few missing things from their home.
Totally agree on the kids thing! It’s amazing to me the pics some kids parents post. There are too many crazies out there now that you just cannot be too careful!
Great tips! It’s definitely a must to be careful as to what we post on social media
I agree. I have post my car and jewelry but no overloading IG of them.
I totally get this list. It’s too much to post when you are somewhere. It takes away from time with fam. I agree with every thing on the list.
I can be iffy about what I share regarding my kids. I do occasionally share photos of them but I try not to make it a habit. Predators scare me!
Great things to keep in mind. I’ve been pretty careful so far about all of these things as I don’t want my children to be embarrassed by what I put online of them.
Great tips! I agree with all!!! Thanks for the reminder!!
Yes! All these things are off limits for me too… For pretty similar reasons!
I agree with your list…it’s amazing how many personal details people post that can cause harm or place them in danger. I’ve read about people getting robbed for posting when they are on vacation.
I want to do a post like this sometime in the near future. I’ve read a few different variations of things not to post and I love seeing what others put. You can learn a lot about someone’s values by what they keep off the internet! I have to say – I agree with basically everything on your list! So many people aren’t smart with social media – I think it’s great to raise awareness!
This is a great list! I also follow all of these things. Some other things I never discuss are day jobs- my husband’s job is important and I want him to keep it so we never post about work. On my blog’s social media platforms I don’t talk about politics, religion or news events that don’t fit into my niche. I’m a fashion blogger and that kind of thing needs to be reserved for my personal page, if I talk about it at all. I also dony discuss my marriage. I’ve seen a lot of people post too much info on thier fights, sex lives, etc. That’s no one’s business but mine and his. I feel like if I wouldn’t want my grandma or my boss, future bosses or my pta moms to see it, it doesn’t go online!
These are really important tips thanks for sharing!
I find it bewildering that someone thinks it is prudent advice to suggest that parents not post nude pictures of their children on social media sites. I doubt many would think to do such a thing; so warning parents not to do so is unnecessary.
Thanks for your input, Bill; however, I’ve seen it ALL, including people posting “harmless” pics of their kids running around naked, to pics of their kids in the bathtub. So yes, the would do such a thing.
I am the same as you.:) I don’t post those types of things either.
I think #1 should be a no-brainer, but based on some of the pictures I see posted a lot of people have no brains. Great tips, I hope some people pay attention to them 🙂
Amen to all 7 especially #1. Unfortunately, the creepers scour social media for innocent pictures of other peoples’ kids, but I see my friends making that mistake time and time again. Thanks for writing this.
Definitely some great points and I fully agree with all 7! Righteous article!
SUCH GOOD reminders/tips. It’s so easy to forget that things you post a) can’t be fully taken back ever and b) are accessible to any/everyone. Putting other people/kids/students in that situation isn’t fair! I love this article.
– Kaitlyn
I love this list. I’m always really surprised by how often people post about the places they currently are, especially when it’s outside the home. I always think it’s like putting up a billboard advertising that anything in their home is up for grabs, especially when they are on vacation.
It always amazes me the things some people post on social media. Especially in regards to children! Like…. I’m sure your son/daughter will love the there are hundreds of pictures of them half naked and covered in food on the internet…
I love this! I wish more people went by this list. It always kills me when people don’t think before posting something on the internet. It can be so easy these days for people to find out where you live or where your children go to school. It’s scary to think about!
The top about not posting about WHERE You are until after you’re gone had never occurred to me, I love it! I also would never post anything revealing the location of my home, cars, or children schools. The world is a crazy place these days. Sometimes I am reluctant to share the location of the beach we go to (it is a world famous beach about 40 minutes from my house) even though millions of people travel there a year.
Great tips. I never post pictures of my kids anymore. They’re teens and they would be mad!
I couldn’t agree with you more! Social Media is corrupting every avenue of our lives. People hide behind their anonymity of their computer screens and trash everyone and everything. It absurd! We are all still people. Just because you can’t see their face doesn’t mean you should say it!