I don’t have kids yet, but when I do, I’ll probably heed this advice. I can’t even imagine how data will be searchable in 10 or 20 years from now, or how it will be mined and for which purposes. Creepy, creepy.
That poses some obvious challenges for Kate’s future self. It’s hard enough to get through puberty. Why make hundreds of embarrassing, searchable photos freely available to her prospective homecoming dates? If Kate’s mother writes about a negative parenting experience, could that affect her ability to get into a good college? We know that admissions counselors review Facebook profiles and a host of other websites and networks in order to make their decisions.
There’s a more insidious problem, though, which will haunt Kate well into the adulthood. Myriad applications, websites, and wearable technologies are relying on face recognition today, and ubiquitous bio-identification is only just getting started. In 2011, a group of hackers built an app that let you scan faces and immediately display their names and basic biographical details, right there on your mobile phone. Already developers have made a working facial recognition API for Google Glass. While Google has forbidden official facial recognition apps, it can’t prevent unofficial apps from launching. There’s huge value in gaining real-time access to view detailed information the people with whom we interact.
The easiest way to opt-out is to not create that digital content in the first place, especially for kids. Kate’s parents haven’t just uploaded one or two photos of her: They’ve created a trove of data that will enable algorithms to learn about her over time. Any hopes Kate may have had for true anonymity ended with that ballet class YouTube channel.
I know we all have enough to worry about, and that probably goes double and triple for parents, but this seems like a fairly easy action to opt of…we’ll see.
by 
My gut feeling is that it’s overstated. People have been writing about their kids and showing them in public for ages now. I’m careful, but I really think not sharing anything about your kids is probably unnecessary. It reminds me of people who won’t let their kids play outside for fear of child abduction. Yes, it happens but the risks are minimal.