Keeping Him Safe Online

 
  Recently a close friend asked me, "Aren't you afraid to put all of those pictures of Vaught on your blog?" She didn't ask it in a condescending way; she was honestly just curious, and I was inspired to write a post about how I keep our little guy safe online.

    Are we every truly safe in the WWW? I'm not sure. I'd like to say yes, that I'm careful enough, but I also don't think you can ever be too cautious. There are some crazy people out there who would go through a lot to get to someone if they really wanted to... Online stalking is a real thing and can definitely be dangerous, but I'd like to think I'm as careful as I can be to ensure that my family is protected. Below are a few precautions I take to keep our little Vaught safe online.

1. Aside from his name and birthdate, none of his personal information is accessible. I didn't make it known exactly where he was born or the pediatrician he uses. If someone local asks on Facebook for pediatrician references, I usually inbox to suggest the office we use. Around Mother's Day, this post went viral where mothers were asked to share all sorts of information about their children. I got tagged a few times to do it but never did. Do I really think someone could steal Vaught's identity from that information alone? Not really. But I did what I thought was best in keeping him safe.

2. I never post where we're at/what we're doing. If you follow me on Instagram you'll see random little updates about our day: where we are, what we're doing, what we've got planned... Would you have guessed I'm "fibbing" in nearly all of those posts? When I post a photo of Vaught at Target (because we sure do love Target) or us taking a walk, or going wherever else, the photo or post is rarely in real time. Usually, it's several hours later or even the next day. I don't want to let people know when we're not home or where we are.

3. Crop out/blur out car tags, mailboxes, etc. If any of my photos ever have blurry spots, random stickers, or are oddly cropped, it's probably because I don't want to give away specific details about our vehicles or home.

4. I never post in excess. If I posted every single photo of Vaught I take, I'd have at least a dozen Instagram/Facebook posts every day. Seriously. I try to just post about him a couple times a week maximum. I never want to give too much information about what we're doing/where we're going on a daily basis.

5. I don't add or accept friends I don't know, and I delete people if they seem... odd. I don't care if this makes me seem snobby, I absolutely will not accept a friend request of someone I don't know personally or who isn't a mutual friend of a friend. If  a friend of one of my good friends wants to add me, even if I've not met him or her in person, I will usually accept. Now, with blogging I have made a few friends in that community who have become my friends on Facebook, but that's a little different to me. These are women I've connected with through the blogging community. You may think, Well, that's still not very smart, but I have to go with my gut on this one. As far as people getting weird, it's another thing I trust my gut on. I can't really explain it, but I have certainly defriended people for acting strange.

    I apply all of these same concepts on my blog as well, careful to not be too specific. My Facebook profile is private; my blog, however, is not. Anyone can see it from anywhere. While it's not hard to figure out that I'm from Mississippi, I try to not post too much about my exact locations or places I go to frequently (damn you, Target). These are steps I take just as an extra precaution. Do I really think someone would stalk me of all people? No, but it comes with blogging and putting your family and personal life on the Internet.

    If you're a fellow blogger mom or a mom with online profiles where you post pictures of your child(ren), please take appropriate precautions to ensure that your little ones aren't getting too much exposure. Even if you're not a parent, it's always a smart idea to practice safe and secure social networking!