Is it safe to post photos of your children online?
Not having children, this isn’t something I spend a lot time worrying about. But there was a story in the New York Times this weekend looking at the sensitive subject of posting photos of kids online. Specifically, does that make them more vulnerable to predators?
The short answer, according to experts in the story, is no.
“Research shows that there is virtually no risk of pedophiles coming to get kids because they found them online,” said Stephen Balkam, chief executive of the Family Online Safety Institute. While the debate makes this crime seem common, he said, all the talk is really just “techno-panic.”
Prof. David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, says TV shows like the “Dateline NBC” program “To Catch a Predator” have falsely inflated the danger of the Internet.
“There is this characterization of pedophiles using the Internet as an L. L. Bean catalog, but this is not the way it happens,” he said. Predators are much more likely to look in chat rooms or other sites, he said, where teenagers are suggesting that they may be open to a sexual relationship.
So where the danger? Strangely enough, most of it seems to come from other, hyper-sensitive, parents. Post a video on YouTube from your kid’s birthday party - and be prepared for the complaints from the parents of other kids seen in the video.
Tim has covered a wide range of topics, including tourism, crime, aviation and gambling, since becoming a reporter in 1990. The Oklahoma native joined the Post-Dispatch in 2007 after spending nine years in Orlando. In his spare time, he's often exploring one virtual world or another. He can be reached at tbarker@post-dispatch.com. 
No… never post photos of your children online.
There’s no more danger in posting a photograph of your child online than there is walking down the street.
I’ve never understood the fear of posting photos online. Seems to me it just perpetuates a myth that the Internet is a Big Bad Scary place. Of course you need to be careful — just like you do when you drive, walk down the street or visit a theme park. Bad things can happen anywhere.
I just had this discussion with my 14 year old the other day!
What about posting photos of, say, a 5 year old in the bathtub. Would that be distributing child porn?
I’m cautious about posting pictures of my kids. I don’t worry about someone taking them for ads as much as I worry about someone with ill intentions looking at pictures of my child for kicks. I post minimal pictures, but I never use his name. There are just too many unknowns out there on the Internet.