Nancy Friedman is the co-founder of KidzVuz.com. She blogs about her 20-year quest to lose the same 10 pounds and other of life's dilemmas at FromHiptoHousewife.com.

In the real world, you might not think twice about telling a friend you saw their child engaging in dangerous behavior. As they say, “it takes a village.” So why would you hesitate about intervening in the digital space? I say, “it takes a digital village” and here’s why I think it’s ok to be a digital tattletale.

Earlier in the school year, I tattled on a 12-year-old boy. He is a classmate of my kids’, and I saw him crossing a major intersection against the light, flaunting his bravery to his friends who were (smartly) waiting on the corner for the light to change. I didn’t agonize over what to do. I thought, “it takes a village,” so I told his mother. I figured she’d want to know. And I figured he should know that even when his mother isn’t watching…somebody’s mother is.

As it happened, she didn’t take it well. She laughingly called me a tattletale, but I could tell she meant it. Still, I think I did the right thing: better to be a tattletale with a clear conscience than a secret-keeper with a critically injured kid on your conscience.

But a few weeks ago, I saw a photo of the 12-year-old daughter of a friend making an obscene gesture on my own daughter’s Instagram feed. (Whatever gesture you’re imagining…this one was worse.) This time, I did agonize over telling her mother.