Making Sense

New technologies are going to be coming out all the time -- and your kids will most likely be the ones to introduce them to you! If you approach new technology in a way that helps you understand it, you can figure out ways to use it appropriately ... or decide to wait on it.

Here are the key things to keep in mind when posting photos from your cell phone:

Turn off your device's location services. Due to privacy laws, programs must first ask you whether you want to have the device access your location in order to "geo-tag" the photo. You can select "no," or you can just go into your device's settings and turn off the GPS function altogether (but then your device can't use mapping programs).

If you're going to post photos online, use a secure site. Photo-sharing sites like Picasa and Flickr have privacy settings that allow you to restrict who you share the photos with. Only share photo albums with known users -- like a girl scout troop or your family members, for example.

Don't add any identifying information to photo captions. No names, addresses, locations, birthdates, etc.

Better safe than sorry. If you have a legitimate fear that someone might be targeting you or your kids, don't enable them by posting any private information online -- and go to the police!

Get more information on location services.