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Do you post kids’ pics online?

Posted Jun 30, 2009 by Beth Gaddis

Updated Jun 30, 2009 at 09:00 AM

I can’t imagine what it would be like to raise my kids in a media fishbowl.  I’m pretty sure I would never want them to cover their faces with masks or blankets, like Michael Jackson did when his children were younger.  Nor would I want the paparazzi snapping photos of them everywhere we went. 

I just read a story about the Obamas’ attempt to limit photos of their girls.  They’ve requested photographers refrain from snapping any pictures of Malia, 10, and Sasha, 8, unless they’re at an official event.  The White House supplies some photos of the girls with their parents and at play, which White House press secretary Robert Gibbs says is an attempt to limit the market for paparazzi pictures. Read the story

I think that’s a pretty good way to go.  I can’t imagine how paranoid the Obamas must be about their children.  It’s not just their physical safety; it’s the fear that some sicko might be fantasizing about their kids.  I’m paranoid even about the photos I’ve posted of my own two boys.  It’s one of the side effects of being a journalist; I see an awful lot of child pornography arrest reports.  You know that commercial of a teenaged girl posting a picture of herself on the Web and then realizing everyone has seen it?  It freaks me out.

Anyone else think about this stuff?