I very rarely post pictures of myself online. If I do they are typically like my avatar, just a little more light and distortion than a regular picture or I take them down after like 48 hours. I only post them in "Just For Us" sections and only on Susan's and Livejournal (where my posts are locked so only people I accept as friends can see). Why?
It doesn't have anything to do with creating a false persona of myself or anything other than protecting myself. There are many, many ways of tracking someone down and finding out where they live. I purposely keep my online information private including the city and specific area I live in, my friends' real names, details about my family, etc. I don't think anyone specific is after me, but I have friends that have had stalkers and just people who want to prove that they can mess with you. I don't want that. So, as much as I'd like to post a bunch of pictures and details, I just don't. Why risk it?
Some people say "hey, if it's going to happen, it's going to happen. They'll find you." Um, no they won't. I don't have this tied to my real name and there's just not much of a way to track me down. I don't know what I'll be doing a year from now, five years from now, I don't need the aggravation of posting stuff that somehow, someway comes back to haunt me somehow. I like going to sleep feeling safe and secure
Amanda, I would recommend just being careful. Most people don't think about it until it's too late to do anything about it, you know? Meghan
