Vlogging, a form of blogging that involves video and audio content, seems harmless. Many people and families upload their vlogs onto internet sites such as YouTube, for family members and friends to see. But what happens when that video gets over one million views? No longer are the people watching your home videos your family members or friends. Some people, like many famous YouTubers, enjoy making videos of their life and family and posting them on the internet for millions to see. Some Daily Vloggers even quit their jobs in order to keep up with the vlogging and some even consider it as their job and obligation. YouTube actually gives out plaques to people who hit subscription milestones such as 100,000 subscribers or even 1,000,000 subscribers. What's so wrong with letting millions of people watch what you do everyday? Its not like they know where you live right? Wrong...
Many YouTubers that do daily vlogs post their vlogs a day after recording. Although the time difference may feel safe for them, people can easily track them down. In the vlogs they will show where they go on a daily basis, what stores they shop at, what city they live in and what places they take their kids to play. This is a very dangerous risk vloggers are willing to take.
Famous Vlogger and founder of now Disney owned Maker Studios, Shay Carl, has been vlogging his family everyday for over 5 years. With over 2000 vlogs, it is easily a stalkers paradise. Without any information other than the vlogs, I was able to find out many things. Shay Carl Butler and his wife Colette Butler have 5 children, Gavin Butler , Avia Butler , Emmi Lou Butler, Brock Butler, and Daxton Butler. They live in the mountains of Idaho near Pocatello. Shay Carl has 3 siblings Casey, Carlie, and Logan. Casey, who also does daily vlogs, has a wife, Kaylie and they have 3 children, Braliee, Gage, and Winston. Casey and Shay are neighbors. Carlie, who vlogs as well, has a son named Cooper who goes back and forth from Carlie's house to Carlie's-ex . Carlie also is dating Steve who is Shays friend. Logan, who just graduated high school last year, vlogs as well, and attends Utah state and visits Idaho to visit his girlfriend Morgan. With this information the Butler family and the Butler kids are an easy target for ransoms.
Another vlogger family is a little more discrete about what they put on the vlogs however is still very open. Benji and Judy vlog their family and children, Julianna, Kiera, and Miya. They live in seattle and often shop at the same organic stores once a week. Another family , Ellie and Jared, just celebrated their son Jackson's first birthday and is expecting again around summertime. Ellie and Jared are YouTube friends with the Butlers and they even appear in some of each others vlogs. Another family, April and Justin have a son named Liam who is 8 months old. They live in the Bay Area of California and visit the Mitsuwa in San Jose.
All this information was gathered by watching about a year of the ShayCarl Family and about 6 months of the other families. Such private information is openly shared to over 6,000,000 suscribers combined. Vlogging is great however information such as birthdates, full names, location and leisure sites shouldn't be openly revealed to the billions of people who watch YouTube.
I watch a few channels that are dedicated to vlogging, and I never realized how unsafe it could be. When sharing your videos on the internet, you can watch them back and remember all of the insane and special moments in your life, but those moments are open to the public and you won't have much privacy once you post them. Once one video is up, your viewers will want to see more of your life, and you can't stop posting vlogs unless you want to lose your viewers.
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