Facebook (and similar) Users: Is it rude to not have a photo of oneself?

[Venus193]

Yes, they are!  In many places here in the US (but not NYC  ) it's actually legal to adopt them.

[Lisbeth]

It's not rude to not have a photo in one's Facebook or LinkedIn profile.  It does make it easier to identify people who have them though.

[Dogface]

In terms of facebook style sites, is there something you could use as your picture that isn't a regular picture?  I'm extremely private and hate the idea of plastering my face onto the internet, but at the same time I realise it helps people to give them a visual.  So I've got a photo of my hair only - it's distinctively coloured - that is more than enough for the real people I know to identify with, and also provides only a glimpse to those who've never met me face to face.

Heck, even a favourite flower/object/place/etc should be enough to add some kind of flavour to a purely social profile.

That's what I do. Right now I have a screenshot from one of my favorite TV shows as my profile picture.

[sammycat]

In terms of facebook style sites, is there something you could use as your picture that isn't a regular picture?  I'm extremely private and hate the idea of plastering my face onto the internet, but at the same time I realise it helps people to give them a visual.  So I've got a photo of my hair only - it's distinctively coloured - that is more than enough for the real people I know to identify with, and also provides only a glimpse to those who've never met me face to face.

Heck, even a favourite flower/object/place/etc should be enough to add some kind of flavour to a purely social profile.

That's what I do. Right now I have a screenshot from one of my favorite TV shows as my profile picture.

I've done something similar - so far I've had a picture of me as a baby, a photo of my favourite food, and currently, a scenic picture I took.

[MariaE]

It's not rude not to have a photo of yourself up, however for a professional site such as LinkedIn, I do think (but that's my personal opinion) that it seems less professional not to have a photo of yourself on the profile (and in this situation a photo of something other than yourself is just as bad - or worse - as no photo at all).

[T'Mar of Vulcan]

I see on Facebook that a lot of people (especially ex-pupils of mine) put blocks with words describing themselves, or sparkly pictures of flowers or whatever. My brother kept putting up pictures of monkeys wearing fezzes (no, I don't know why). Some write their name all stylized and use that. My cousin has a photoshopped photo with his head on some cowboy hunk's body. And so on.

For a long time I had a cartoon of me in front of the board that a child drew of me; I thought it was charming. I've gone back to an actual photo now, but since I get bored easily it may not last.

[familyfun]

Since Linked in is a professionally geared site, it would be easier to confirm if the person is the right one by positions or employers.  A photo wouldn't be necessary for that.  Facebook is a bit trickier as that info is in my profile and I have it set so only my friends can view that.   My last name is kind of unusual and I didn't think there would be that many people with my name, but there are at least a dozen others with my first/last name.  So I made my profile photo viewable so people trying to reconnect.  But I wouldn't think not having any photo would be rude.  The one thing which drives me nuts is when people put a kid's photo in their profile photo. A photo of the whole family for a profile is fine because at least the person is still in the photo.  But when they're not, it makes it harder to tell if this is the person I'm trying to reconnect.  Particularly if their profile info and friends list isn't viewable. 

[alegria]

It's not rude to not have a photo in one's Facebook or LinkedIn profile.  It does make it easier to identify people who have them though.

Exactly this.  Some friends who don't want their faces on their profiles use photos of their dogs, which if you know them is just as good a way to identify them anyway.  I use a picture of myself that I like - for over a year it was the posed photo of me with my four dogs, and I just changed it to a photo of me with my youngest dog starting a race.  My husband has a photo of him on his motorcycle during a track day, which again is recognizable if you know him but doesn't show his face.

I think if you're going to have a profile photo, it should in some way be recognizable as "you," whether by using words, showing your face, or showing something that is intrinsically part of you (like a pet).

[jimithing]

I have to admit, I do think it's a bit odd when I see someone with nothing as their picture. Likes PPs said, it doesn't have to be a picture of you.

But I have a FB friend who has nothing, and her picture is this gray "person." I sort of have to wonder what the point is of even joining if you don't want to even upload anything there. And I agree it makes people much more identifiable.

[audrey1962]

I LOVE the picture. However, in the past LinkedIn has removed non-professional photos, including pictures of dogs, babies, etc. I don't know if they still do this and I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with this policy, I just wanted to make you aware of it.

ETA: Here is some additional infomration from LI, "We consider a photo appropriate as long as it does not contain content that is copyrighted or unauthorized for public distribution and does not contain offensive content. Additionally, if your photo is not an image of yourself or does not contain an actual photograph, it is considered inappropriate." This is from October 2008, so I am not sure if it's still accurate.

OK; that sounds good.  I think this will be the picture:



As I recall, even here someone posted to ask me what they were.

[Sirius]

Since I am neither 25 nor pretty I don't think it would benefit me to post a photo of myself, especially since I'm looking for a job

Venus, I suspect you are being very hard on yourself....you should see my D/L photo!

Venus, I've seen your picture and I know you're being hard on yourself. 

I've got two  Facebook pages, and on one I have a picture taken of me taken on my wedding day which is pretty decent, and on the other page my avatar is a picture of my cat.  My brother has a picture of his vintage Rambler, and Mr. Sirius has a picture of a galaxy collision.  So, really, you should be able to put a picture of whatever you want in that slot.