Parents issued warning over posting pictures of their kids online – but not everyone agrees – The Mirror
Parents posting to social media have been issued a warning to think twice before sharing snaps of their children – but some people reckon the advice is over-the-top
Parents have been warned against posting pictures of their children on social media – but not everyone agrees with the advice.
The guidance came during a debate on the popular social network Mumsnet, where parents take to forums to swap tips and share dilemmas. One post divided users when a mum asked whether fellow families were for or against sharing images online.
"I occasionally post pics of my kids on FB and instagram," the poster wrote. "Maybe once or twice a year. I occasionally do stories too. Maybe 3 to 4 times a year.
"I decided that if it wasn't too often, it would be fine. Some people never post at all or some blur out the faces. Others post daily." The mum then asked other users to chime in with their thoughts.
One user who works with the police revealed they refused to share photos of their kids. "I don’t post any pictures of my DC (dear child)," they wrote.
"I work for the police dealing with child exploitation though, so I am much more alert to the misuse of pictures than others are. I would also hate it if someone put pictures of me up without my consent, and that is in effect what someone is doing whenever they post a photo of a child."
But others disagreed. "I post pics of my kids. One of my cousins posted lots of themselves before child was born & since (6 years ago?) they post nothing of selves or child. I am curious how that turns out."
A third added: "Children shouldn’t be put online. They can’t tell you what photos or posts they like or approve of. What information they don’t mind you sharing with the world.
"Imagine if every detail of your childhood was online for the world to see? Would you be happy that your friends and work colleagues had seen a video of your first wee on the potty? Or a video of you having a tantrum over something that your mum thought was funny at the time?"
But another disagreed, responding: "I don't think my children are going to mind a pic of them with their birthday cake… it's not a big deal to post a pic with a birthday cake. I doubt they're going to lose out on jobs when they're older because of their 2nd birthday pic online."
Trevor Cooke, online privacy expert at EarthWeb, previously told Yahoo! News why you should think twice about sharing images of your young ones. "Even with strict privacy settings, these images could be stolen, copied, altered, or spread forever across the internet, meaning you completely lose control of who sees your child and what they do with their image," he said.
"Scammers have even taken out loans in the name of children under the age of five – ruining their credit before they’re even old enough to use money."
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