Why I blur my children’s pictures (even if it’s ugly)
If you’ve been following this blog or any of my social media channels, you surely noticed I blur my children’s pictures. It’s an aesthetic abomination and definitely not the best community engagement strategy. As digital parenting is a popular thematic nowadays, I’d like to share with you all the reasons behind this choice.
In my professional life, I work with big data and I am familiar with its power. You’d be surprised how many of your daily choices are in practice influenced by data-based marketing strategies. The data we share, consciously or not, affects our lives greatly, sometime for good purpose (ex. government stats), sometime not.
Legally I have any right to share my children’s pictures on public channels. However, publishing photos on social media nowadays means giving up any rights on their ownership (you know, those terms and conditions no one reads…). It also means they can be seen, downloaded, and used by anyone. Without thinking of creeps, I’ve read more than once how some bloggers’ family pictures were used from other people, websites, or even for political propaganda, without asking for authorisation. When you publish your children’s pictures, you lose any control or right on them.
I’m sincere when I say I don’t judge parents who make a different choice. I actually enjoy several public accounts run by families and giggle at any Instagram baby pic. Personally, I don’t feel safe enough for the time being, and when I am doubtful, I always choose the option which minimises risks. I hope this posts offers an unconventional view on the matter and I’d be more than happy to hear other opinions in the comments section. How careful are you with your child’s online privacy? How do you evaluate risks? Drop me a line below. As always, thank you for reading!
Mummy in a Tutu
Winnettes
November 24, 2017 at 12:22 pmI am always interested in different opinions on this. I do share picture of my kids but I am picky about which ones and certainly nothing I wouldn’t want used else where. I wish there was an easy right and wrong on this subject but it is so subjective. Thank you for linking up to #ThursdayTeam
theelephantmum
November 24, 2017 at 12:43 pmSo true! And my goal with the post was not to criticise who does things differently, but I have the feeling sharing kids’ pics has become “the normal way” and when that happens, people stop reflecting on pros and cons. I have the feeling many are not aware of the risks, hence I wrote the post. 🙂 Thanks for reading and commenting!
Winnettes
November 29, 2017 at 12:01 pmThat is very true, normal can bring complacency and it good to reflect on that and be aware x
Nicole
November 25, 2017 at 1:56 amAh, this was what my post last week was about – Sharenting, and where we should draw the line. I don’t show my son’s pics on my blog/ social media either – for safety reasons (although I know it’s what a mummy blogger should do!). Too many pervs on the internet and dangerous people in the outside world.
Here’s the post if you fancy a read
https://talesfrommamaville.com/mumspeak-6-sharenting-stop/
#ThursdayTeam
theelephantmum
November 25, 2017 at 7:30 amThanks for commenting! Yes I’ve read and liked that post, it’s important to keep the conversation open on this theme, for our kids’ safety.
Expatorama
November 25, 2017 at 12:18 pmRight there with you Elephant Mum. The only pics of our kids that I share on my blog (or any other internet platform) are taken from behind so that you can’t see their faces (gets round the ugly blurring problem) or are of their shadows or the occasional little hand or foot.
mummyest2014
November 25, 2017 at 8:37 pmI don’t show J’s face in any photo online except my personal Facebook. The way I see it (and it’s just my opinion) I am sharing details of J’s personal life. Photos online tend to stay online and I don’t know what affect this will have on J in the future. When he is older and can give me informed consent then I will use photos that show his gorgeous face. Sadly I’ve worked in safeguarding environments and heard too many horror stories of innocent photos used for not innocent things x
mummyhereandthere
November 28, 2017 at 8:25 amInteresting points and totally get it. Defo do what makes you feel comfortable. I am conscious of what I post, I do post much but never put up naked photos or any of that kind of thing X #familyfunlinky
chloraldo
December 1, 2017 at 6:08 pmI feel like we should think hard before posting photos of ANY other human being — including kids. Or ask, when posting photos of adults.
I remember in my teenage days, I surely wouldn’t have been amused by school friends finding random family photos of me in the internet. I personally wouldn’t care now anymore, but there was a time…
mackenzieglanville
January 31, 2018 at 10:39 amI do share images of my children on my Instagram account and on some blog posts, what I don’t do is share their names. I use a pseudonym and I do the same with my children. I never post any local pics of our local playground, nor school uniforms or where they go to school, sport etc. It took me a long time to join social media, whilst everyone I knew was on Facebook I avoided it for the longest time and when I finally did join it was not my real name. It is a personal choice, we have to make it ourselves. Sometimes I worry about sick people looking at images of my child, but I also would feel as bad if they were looking at images of any one else child too. I know as a parent we can only do what we can and make our choices for our own families. Part of me thinks I shouldn’t and then part of me thinks why should I let these creeps, these horrible, disgusting, vile people run my life and stop me from sharing the best parts of my life. I was sexually assaulted in my teens, and stalked for many years following so I shed away from all things social especially social media, maybe that is why now I refuse to be anyones victim and I kind of think when I stop doing things i love that he is winning, does that make sense? I love this topic though and I don’t know if there is a right or wrong answer, the lines are blurred. I admire your choice because you know what feels right to you and that is what truly matters most! I also host a hashtag on Instagram called Mummy Shot #mummyshot which was carted for us all to be able too hare images of our children without showing their faces, for example a pic of the back of them or just part of their face, or their feet, hands etc. Some people still use the tag for any pics as we can not control what hashtags people use, but my co-host and I only feature the pics on our feasted posts that have no full face images, feel free to join in. Thanks for being part of our linky #ablogginggoodtime
Digital parenting: our screen time rules – The Elephant Mum
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