Back to school, and return to the photographs of our children the first day of class, with his backpack, his new uniform, saying goodbye by hand ... They are good memories to share with our family and friends! But as long as it is done with caution.
According to the survey 'The Age of Consent' (the age of consent) of the cybersecurity company McAFee "almost three out of four parents (71%) know that photos uploaded to platforms on-line they could end up in unwanted hands. ” And yet, 50 percent of respondents say they will post a picture of their son at the start of the new course.
This widespread phenomenon of sharing photos, videos and data of our children on social networks, receives the name of sharenting and reaches the point that 81 percent of children already have an Internet presence before reaching six months of life.
Threats to our children on the Net
“The survey reveals that parents are not aware of what they publish and how this can harm their children. If the shared images fall into the wrong hands, sensitive information such as the date of birth, address, school or even the child's full name can be subtracted, which could lead to cyberbullying or identity theft, ”says Francisco Sancho, product partner manager consumer and mobile of McAfee Spain.
The good news is that the majority (70%) only share photos of minors in their private social network accounts. This represents a first step in the protection of the child, but much remains to be done to ensure their safety.
We do not ask permission to publish
Did you know that one in four children feel anxiety or shame when their parents share pictures of themselves on the Internet? This is reflected in the BBC Newsround Safer Day 2017 study by the communication consultant ConRes.
Well, it seems that most parents are not aware of the emotional involvement it may have, and more fathers than mothers, since 45 percent of them believe that their children can overcome any embarrassing image or video.
Moreover, according to the McAfee survey, many of them (58%) do not take into account whether the child would agree that the image of their last school function (for example) be published on the network, 22 percent say that minors should not decide if their image should be published, and 19 percent believe it is the decision of adults.
However, the law does not think so. An example is the Italian mother who had to pay her son to upload his images to the Internet.
Four basic tips for sharing images securely
1) Disable geolocation
Many social networks add the user's location by posting the image on social networks. Parents should ensure that this feature is disabled to avoid disclosing its location.
2) Configure privacy
You only have to share photos and other publications on social networks with a private audience. Facebook and Instagram, for example, allow sharing information with those users confirmed as contacts, however, everything published on these platforms should be considered as public information.
3) Do not post photos of others without express authorization
It is advised to be clear with friends and family about the guidelines for publishing the images of our children. These rules can help avoid unwanted situations in which a family member shares photographs without explicit parental permission. Of course, this also includes not posting photos of friends or classmates posing together. They are minors and their privacy concerns their parents.
These same basic guidelines should also be applied by the parents themselves to protect children from images that may cause anxiety in the child or that give way to cyberbullying.
4) Delete all personal footprints
It is a good option to pixelate the shield or name of the school in your uniform or in the babi, so that it is illegible, and so you cannot locate the place where the child studies.
So This year, before publishing again the picture of our son on the first day of school, let's think about his safety. And let's make sure that our social media accounts have enough privacy and can only be seen by our closest contacts.
Nor would it hurt to ask them without it seems good that their uncles or mom's friends see how handsome he is. Why Although they are small, they already have an opinion about what they like and what bothers them. The photos endure over time and damage to their self-esteem may appear later. There is even talk of denouncing parents for sharenting (Can my son denounce me for uploading photographs of him to social networks?).
Photos | iStock
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