Do you feel posting on next-door put your kids at risk?

[Anonymous]

I’m not a part of it, but it makes me so uncomfortable that you have to identify your exact address. I have two kids and I feel like it is just a magnet for predators but I would love to have more connection to my neighborhood and know what people are posting as far as information when we lose power, people looking for lost dogs, etc .
I guess I’m trying to weigh the pros versus cons. People who are on it, can you let me know what your experiences have been?

[Anonymous]

I believe (?) you can remove your address from it.

[Anonymous]

It makes you enter your full exact address when you sign up.

[Anonymous]

I'm on Nextdoor but virtually never post and don't mention my kids when I do. I had to list my address to verify where I live but it's not listed on my account (just my neighborhood).

But I feel the same about any social media. I'm on a few platforms but I don't post a lot, and am very aware of how I post and how it exposes my family or what risks might be involved. I've always been amazed by people who post a lot of personal information on these platforms, including lots of photos of their kids, their kids names/schools/ages/interests, photos of their homes or belongings, info about travel plans or their schedule, etc. I don't consider myself overly safety-conscious but this has always seemed like a no-brainer to me -- don't put a bunch of personal info onlin, especially regarding your children. Obviously there are people in the world who might exploit it. This seems so obvious to me.

[Anonymous]

I think you are fixating way too much on predators. Statistically, the risk predators attempt anything based on where you live and the fact you have children is minuscule. Minuscule as in negligible. However, crossing the road and being driven in a car are very dangerous activities. Falling down the stairs is also very dangerous, as in, statistically, a person in their lifetime has a high risk of falling and injuring themselves via a staircase. Predators? Not so much.

It's interesting how a lot of people have a very distorted sense of various risks.

[Anonymous]

I'm not on Nextdoor but your worry Op, is excessive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you are fixating way too much on predators. Statistically, the risk predators attempt anything based on where you live and the fact you have children is minuscule. Minuscule as in negligible. However, crossing the road and being driven in a car are very dangerous activities. Falling down the stairs is also very dangerous, as in, statistically, a person in their lifetime has a high risk of falling and injuring themselves via a staircase. Predators? Not so much.

It's interesting how a lot of people have a very distorted sense of various risks.

Not OP but I disagree. It's not that I think a predator would go to Nextdoor and then target my family or my child by finding us there. It's more that there are people in the world generally who are looking to exploit or hurt other people, and I don't see the point in giving them any assistance. It just seems practical not to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not a part of it, but it makes me so uncomfortable that you have to identify your exact address. I have two kids and I feel like it is just a magnet for predators but I would love to have more connection to my neighborhood and know what people are posting as far as information when we lose power, people looking for lost dogs, etc .
I guess I’m trying to weigh the pros versus cons. People who are on it, can you let me know what your experiences have been?

Do you think people driving past your house can tell from the outside that you have kids there? Bumper sticker of their school on the car in the driveway? Decorations in the windows? Bikes in the driveway, etc.? Your neighborhood already knows you have kids in that house.

Have you considered checking the sex offender registry to see if there are any registered sex offenders living nearby? Obviously they're not all caught and or prosecuted, but that's a jumping off point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you are fixating way too much on predators. Statistically, the risk predators attempt anything based on where you live and the fact you have children is minuscule. Minuscule as in negligible. However, crossing the road and being driven in a car are very dangerous activities. Falling down the stairs is also very dangerous, as in, statistically, a person in their lifetime has a high risk of falling and injuring themselves via a staircase. Predators? Not so much.

It's interesting how a lot of people have a very distorted sense of various risks.

Not OP but I disagree. It's not that I think a predator would go to Nextdoor and then target my family or my child by finding us there. It's more that there are people in the world generally who are looking to exploit or hurt other people, and I don't see the point in giving them any assistance. It just seems practical not to.

We are both right, PP. There's an acceptable continuum, and the extremes are crazy. I rarely post on Nextdoor, and have never talked about my kids. I'm not active on social media in general. But OP comes across as the textbook parent who has a specific fear of predators, and not a very good grasp of which risks she should be focusing on. I've seen it so many times on DCUM over the 10+ years I've been here. Generally it's the parents of very young kids who behave like this - because parents of older kids get some perspective and realize they've got more pressing things to worry about!

[Anonymous]

none of my peers post on next door

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:none of my peers post on next door

Who uuur peers

[Anonymous]

I have found neighborhood group chats much more effective than next door for keeping up with the neighborhood conversations you describe fwiw

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not a part of it, but it makes me so uncomfortable that you have to identify your exact address. I have two kids and I feel like it is just a magnet for predators but I would love to have more connection to my neighborhood and know what people are posting as far as information when we lose power, people looking for lost dogs, etc .
I guess I’m trying to weigh the pros versus cons. People who are on it, can you let me know what your experiences have been?

A risk for what

[Anonymous]

I don’t post often on Nextdoor, but have an account and occasionally check it. There’s a way to not display your exact address. Mine just shows the name of my street. I’d prefer only the neighborhood to be shown, but my street is long so it doesn’t make it that identifiable.

[Anonymous]

OP, you don't have to post anything, let alone anything about your kids.

However, I deleted it because it was a waste of time and fairly negative - lots of complaining, and negative sentiments from people who probably wouldn't voice those in person. And really, how often do you find or lose a dog?