It’s almost time to send the kids back to school, and that means Facebook will soon be flooded with those cute back-to-school pictures. But what information should you exclude from those pictures? And how much information is too much?We spoke to experts who say any information we put out there gets stored somewhere, even if our accounts are set to private.“We love seeing them from our friends and family, but we're certainly creating a digital footprint every time we do that,” said Heather Starr Fiedler, professor of social media at Point Park University. "We're still creating this digital log of information that can be used for lots of different reasons by lots of different people."Starr Fiedler says to stay away from posting any identifying information like your child’s full name, the school they attend, their teacher’s name or classroom number. You should also avoid photos of your child wearing their school uniform, especially if the school’s logo is on it. Make sure your street sign, house number or your child’s bus number is not in the photo as well. "Those are the things that I think are the most dangerous that we want to try to avoid," Starr Fiedler added.In addition to scammers, in the most extreme cases, you could be putting your child in harm's way by unknowingly offering up sensitive information to child predators. “Child predators online are looking to build profiles for people to build relationships, and they can use that information at a later date to form a trusting relationship,” said Scott Argio, assistant special agent in charge at the FBI’s Pittsburgh office. Argio says privacy settings can help, but there is one thing to keep in mind. “The main thing about posting things on social media is, you're posting it for the world to see," Argio said.Starr Fiedler says parents should also be cautious of putting any information out there that would help someone document you or your child’s habits. Like hints about when your kids get picked up, dropped off or start their after-school activities. “That's telling them we're not with our children right now. We're somewhere else," she said. Starr Fiedler adds that once your child has their own social media accounts, make sure you have those important conversations about safety and privacy.
It’s almost time to send the kids back to school, and that means Facebook will soon be flooded with those cute back-to-school pictures.
But what information should you exclude from those pictures? And how much information is too much?
We spoke to experts who say any information we put out there gets stored somewhere, even if our accounts are set to private.
“We love seeing them from our friends and family, but we're certainly creating a digital footprint every time we do that,” said Heather Starr Fiedler, professor of social media at Point Park University. "We're still creating this digital log of information that can be used for lots of different reasons by lots of different people."
Starr Fiedler says to stay away from posting any identifying information like your child’s full name, the school they attend, their teacher’s name or classroom number.
You should also avoid photos of your child wearing their school uniform, especially if the school’s logo is on it.
Make sure your street sign, house number or your child’s bus number is not in the photo as well.
"Those are the things that I think are the most dangerous that we want to try to avoid," Starr Fiedler added.
In addition to scammers, in the most extreme cases, you could be putting your child in harm's way by unknowingly offering up sensitive information to child predators.
“Child predators online are looking to build profiles for people to build relationships, and they can use that information at a later date to form a trusting relationship,” said Scott Argio, assistant special agent in charge at the FBI’s Pittsburgh office.
Argio says privacy settings can help, but there is one thing to keep in mind.
“The main thing about posting things on social media is, you're posting it for the world to see," Argio said.
Starr Fiedler says parents should also be cautious of putting any information out there that would help someone document you or your child’s habits.
Like hints about when your kids get picked up, dropped off or start their after-school activities.
“That's telling them we're not with our children right now. We're somewhere else," she said.
Starr Fiedler adds that once your child has their own social media accounts, make sure you have those important conversations about safety and privacy.
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