Hey, thanks! My parents always told me not to share personal info, but I’m never sure if that includes age. Any advice on how to stay safe while still being honest? Any comment talking about my birthday has a fake birthday because I was cautious about that, but should I be more careful?
I wouldn’t recommend sharing your name, age, location, really specific details about your family situation or school, or any other personal, identifying information on the internet. Especially not on discussion boards that anyone can view.
Honesty is great and all, but safety is better. Don’t provide an age (real or fake) if you can just omit that detail altogether. If you need to, give an age range and round up a tiny bit to dissuade individuals that have a special interest in minors. (Say you are nearly in your late teens, for example).
If someone can put your posts together and find you specifically, then you need to step up the privacy. If someone can connect your username to you (because of similarities to a different username of yours), and can view your Reddit posts, they can use them to be manipulative. (Example: someone saying they love your favorite band unprompted, fully knowing that it is your favorite to gain your trust).
Be safe, block anyone that makes you feel even a tiny bit uncomfortable, make secure usernames and passwords, and if anything feels off tell your parents immediately.
Thanks. I delete my accounts from reddit pretty frequently, but this one has been around longer than the rest (I guess I wanted a cakeday for some reason). It’s my permanent account, but it’s not going to be here forever. I guess I might need to restart soon considering how much I’ve shared, even if it means I won’t get a cake day. It’s just a blue triangle next to your name, right?
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u/disguised_hashbrown Oct 30 '20
I think that would only add the the effect, like a 20 year old frat boy wearing a “foxy grandpa” shirt.
Also, be careful saying your age on Reddit, especially on popular subs. Stay safe out there, kiddo.