We are living in a different time these days. It's so easy to snap a cute photo of your kid And post them on your facebook. Showing all your friends and family.
Many people don't think much of this; I mean family members can always visit to see the child.
But is this okay?
Disclaimer: I do not have kids personally, But As more and more people I went to school with, Have kids. My Facebook is being populated with photos of their children. This post is not meant to tell anyone how to raise their kids, But I wanted to provide something for everyone to think about.
Did you ask Permission?
While you are the parent, You shouldn't have to ask permission for most things. (I"m a bit old fashioned with that.) The internet should always be an exception.
There is nothing wrong with taking photos for scrapbooks and memories sake. But when you post them on Facebook for all to see, That could be embarrassing to the child; It also could have long-term negative effects.
Even if your Facebook only has friends and family on it. It only takes one button to make it public. I also don't trust Facebook in general.
Same goes with Steemit; it's public.
You are creating an online identity about your child, The moment you post them online. This may not be the identity they want to have; It could be embarrassing. We all have thoughts on who we want to be on the internet. And we have a right to that identity. I am so glad social media didn't exist when I was a kid. Because I know those pictures of me sitting on the countertop, In nothing but my underwear, Licking the BBQ chicken pan Would be extremely embarrassing for people to see. Having BBQ all over my face and chest.
What I like about children stock photos, Is they are anonymous. We don't know who these kids are.
Pornography and Identity Theft
People seem less worried about it these days. I remember back when I was a teen When I posted a selfie on Myspace. That was a BIG deal.
Posting photos of yourself were like a horrible thing to do back in that day. Or at least so my parents said. They were furious when they saw a low quality, Pixelated selfie I posted.
Posting photos of your children also give the creeps access to those photos. They could end up on child pornography sites, Or eventually by posting too much info on your child, Could lead to identity theft. People underestimate how easy it does this kind of stuff.
I experimented with this... I took a person I went to school with. Although I didn't' even know her personally. I never spoke to her at all. I went on her facebook. I then logged out. I saw that her email was public.
So I entered her email address. And put the "I forgot the password." I then went on her email provider. And put "Forgot password." The security questions came up for me to answer.
- What is the name of your best friend?
- What is your favorite color?
So I looked at her Facebook And noticed she is constantly talking to this one girl. So I put her name.... It worked.
Favorite color... Hmmm... I took an educated guess, Based purely on the color I saw her wearing in a lot of her photos... Correct.
I got into her email and Facebook.
Oh yeah, and by the way, I wasn't even friends with her on Facebook. I used completely public information...
This just shows how scarily easy it is to violate another person's privacy. I could probably get in trouble for admitting I even did this, but this happened years ago. I don't do stuff like that anymore.
You revealing snippets of information can lead to predators getting more and more info. There are plenty of websites out there that allow you to get the marriage info, Address, birthdays, Etc for less than ten bucks. It's all public!
If you do share photos of your kid online, Make sure they are completely clothed. If they have a towel, A swimsuit, or even a hospital gown, Avoid posting it. You don't know what kind of sicko could be out there looking at those photos.
I have a couple of facebook friends who have posted nude photos of their babies on Facebook.
It's gross And weird. No offense, But I don't care to see your baby naked. I get it; It's just a "baby." But why not post a cute picture of your baby wearing a cute little Winnie the Pooh shirt or something? I just don't get the nude part. Why? Whats the point honestly? Unless you need to send them to your doctor because you need help something. There is no reason for that.
We Don't know the future
Another scary thing about posting photos of your child, Is we don't' know the future of technology. We already have this incredible thing called the internet that allows us to see what anyone in the world is up to. What are other things going to happen? Better facial recognition software?
Eventually, we may have websites that can pull all your photos that were ever posted online, and put them in a folder for all to see. Because it knows your face.
You aren't giving your child a fair chance with that kind of thing. What if they don't want people to see their baby pictures? All their privacy would be ripped from their hands.
The adverse effects I posted above, In you not asking for permission to post...
What if a future employer sees the photos? These days its really common for an employer to check the person's Facebook of the person they are thinking of hiring. Sure, You may think a baby picture might not be a big deal. But sometimes people have the bias that may not be on the surface. Something stupid or petty may be in the photo that's off-putting to them. They may make assumptions based on that photo. Maybe in the background, the employer can see that your house is a mess. The employer might make the assumption that you raised your child in a dirty environment. As a result, Your kid may also be dirty, or disorganized. Which can be a negative quality in the workplace. When the reality is, you may have just had a dirty house for that day, Or your kid may be a clean freak.
These new generations of kids might see MORE discrimination when it comes to the hiring process. And a big part of it, will be from oversharing.
Conclusion
There are some serious harmful effects of oversharing your kids online!
Each parent should be cautious about doing it and think what is best for their kid! Many of us may not think too much about it when we are sharing online, Especially as it becomes an everyday thing, But It can have some serious harmful effects!
@lauralemons Drew me!
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My friend had his 10 year old take him to court because he took his iphone from him and it was considered child abuse because of his emotional trauma, so yeah, ask for permission from your children or they will see you in court :)
Woah...Lol, does that mean my 11 year old can get me put in jail because I haven't gotten her a phone yet in the first place!?
I just hope you don't live in California...
Lol! I do, in fact.
I'd be very curious to know who pays the phone bill for this 10-year-old.
LOL right? Maybe the 10 year old has a job hahahhhaha!
Love your profile pic by the way ! Bender is awesome.
Same guy who was taken to court!
It's not about who pays for it I guess. You are expected to provide for your child and the accusation was not theft as I understood it, but emotional trauma.
But who litigated the case? I'm not sure I actually understand how this would work. I'd expect a case like that to be actually dismissed in many jurisdictions. Could I ask where did that happen if you wouldn't mind sharing that?
WOW! I had no idea it went that far.
I took a phone from my dad's GF and then cops took me to jail for 2 weeks. She was trying to call the cops. She was drunk and mad. I was in my house cooking dinner. She got mad. She went to call 911. I tried to stop her. She kept on trying to stop her. They came and they saw she was drunk but then said I broke a law.
I think if it's over 500.00 it's a felony, so hopefully a low end model :)
That kid got one to many participation ribbons.
I don't think participation ribbons are much of a problem and are too rare of an occasion in the life of a child to be character forming in my opinion. It's like saying that badges and other gamification attempts make Stemian too smug and that's why they are voting for themselves too often. I think it's blowing things out of proportion.
Ugh, thats early mistakes for a child to treat a parent like that. Also hahahahahaha!
It is an interesting question. All my friends with kids post pictures of them on FB all the time. Guess we really don't know if there is any impact or result of that given we are yet to reach a time when these kids have become adults, soon though.
True! We will find out! Hopefully the results won't be too bad.
I think it is good to share more.
the irony of posting pics of 5 different children in this blog post...
I thought exactly the same thing. Haha. But anyway, these children were already on the web, so it was just good for the illustration. ;)
But now they are on the Blockchain - a whole different matter!!
Although these images may supposedly be free, no credit was given to the original artists. The author has no idea whether valid model releases are on file. Now these images are not just on the internet, they are on the Blockchain for all eternity.
Great post! Of course people should not put photos of their children on-line. Neither should they put picture of their dog, house,car,friends and the list goes on. They should not put where they are going or where they have been. I ran under the radar for ten years and only because of Steemit am I visible on line today. It is so easy to get into the accounts of 95% of people. Those are the people who should read this but they probably will not because the have to get back to that important game of scrabble on their smart phone. Sorry I have not been here to see you, I've been a little busy but I am here now and I am still your #1 fan.
Very good points, but the difference between facebook and steemit is that things you post on steemit are on the internet FOREVER. And steemit currently doesnt have any sort of means to allow you to delete/archive anything. I personally think steemit is flawed because of this, but i guess this is just how the blockchain works.
Facebook is forever too. You may not know that, but things are forever but Steemit, more so in a more direct and more accessible kind of way. There are internet timelines and time capsules which freezes and screenshots or saves many websites and contents online. Many people collect videos and many things and they are there even after the videos or the photos are deleted. I have seen these websites. They have been doing these things for decades.
Question to both of you guys? What do you think they are doing with all this data?
Important subject and too many parents dont realize indeed what they are doing when posting naked kids photos...
So true!! I especially don't get that one. I understanding maybe posting a cute picture of your kid, But never should they be indecent.
Lets hope your post will spread some awareness!
Should parents abort those kids before they are born via abortions?
Insanity. I have confronted friends about this on facebook only to see they changed their privacy settings after the fact. Ridiculous. Not that the settings matter.
I agree with you. There are a lot of wicked people in this world. Your children can hold it against you for sure, the photos you take of them and think it is so cute can turn out to be horrifying to them. Like my eldest daughter - When she was about 4 years old, I bought her a pair of very funky, expensive, modern shoes at the time. Twenty years later, when she paged through her photo album, she wanted to know who bought her such ugly shoes!
I think the worst thing about "social media-ising" children is that it creates an identity for them to "fit into." Children should be able to figure out who they are on their own without someone telling them who to be. Then again, we grew up in the age of "stranger danger" and D.A.R.E. and now kids use their phone to call a stranger to pick them up and drive them somewhere. The world is a changing beast, that's for sure...
Good post. It's really important to discuss such topics on these days. We just have to care about it, think about it, and try to make everyone safer on the web, especially childrens
I don't have children either but have a lot of friends filling my Facebook feed with their kids, then some don't post much about their kids at all even though they are very active on Facebook. It's good to see things from another persons perspective. I understand now why some decided to leave their children out of social media. Great post!!
So true! Thank you! It's a really hard decision for those parents! I don't even know what I would do in that situation either.
People who share more have better lives.
I agree. We made the decision to not put our sons face on the internet until he gives permission. With the way the world is changing children need to understand boundaries and consent. It also shows them that as a parent you respect them amd their sacred being. My son is 19 months old and has never been online. We told all our friends and family and they have respected our wishes. It is not that hard to do. And your child will be closer to you and most lilely thank you in the future. As much as I like seeing cute baby pictures, it is a total violation of child rights. I could go on but you get what I am putting down. Children have zero rights, a dog is more respected and protected by law. What do we want our future generation to become? Some thoughts. Thank you for posting this, it is very important for people to at least consider.
Not like I haven't been tempted cause he is so friggin CUTE! But he is more important then my passing thought.
It is a good to help them learn consent and respect. But the NWO is watching us.
I actually wrote about this last month after my wife shared an article with me. The article I read had a few of the issues you brought up here. It made me seriously consider never posting my child's photos online.
I also learned that if I take a photo of someone else's child, you should definitely ask for permission from those parents as they may be doing purposely keeping their kid's face off the internet for a reason.
It's something that I don't think a lot of people consider the consequences of before doing it.
Here's that post I made about this subject if you're interested: https://steemit.com/privacy/@brendanwenzel/could-we-unknowingly-be-causing-our-kids-damage-posting-about-them-on-social-media
Definitely resteeming this as it's a subject more people should think about it!
So true!! THank you for sharing I had no idea you made a post already :) It's definitely something we need to be careful about.
Why not ask for the permission from those children. Because if those parents should ask their own children for permission, then you should ask those same children directly as well. Go directly to the children and ask them. If children want to drink beer, children should be able to give themselves their own consent in the same way they give themselves consent with shared photos.
What about memes??? Whats your take on children memes??
Definitely gives food for thought. I think some good old fashioned common sense can go a long way. There's a lot to be said for prudent judgement and case by case decision-making. Thanks for sharing!
As a parent, these are some really important safety considerations. Thanks for sharing.
No problem :)
I use to work for a dental firm that served children... yes yes yes.. very familiar with HIPA laws. People do get in trouble for taking photos of kids and posting online without permission.
It can be a scary world out there.
They do? Wow! I thought that it only happened if it were inappropriate photos.
Nope. You always need consent from the parents if they are minors.
Why not consent from the children and not from the parents?
That's how the HIPA law works, but asking kids should also be priority.
I've got four kids and this is something I'm always concerned about. When I post any images of my kids they have to the type where I'm comfortable seeing them on the front of a magazine or newspaper. It's a hard thing to measure sometimes. At one point you want to safeguard your kids from everything. And then you want to show them off to the world because you are so proud of what they have done. Great article! Thanks!
I think it's not right posting the photo of your children online. They should be left to take such decision on their own when they come of age.
Thanks for sharing @kaylinart
Very informative content.
Hey great post @kaylinart!!! I remember myspace and also sending picture over mIRC, it was creepy!!! I was just about to wrote an article about children and parenting, it will definitely come in my mind when it will come to choose the right picture 🖖
Parents feel they don't have to ask for permission to see their children because they own them like property, objects, since they made them. Subliminally, subconsciously, we feel these things. We feel we deserve many things. We begin to think and believe only in what we want to believe in. We tend to hear and see only what we want to see.
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I'm American. I'm working in Vietnam. Vietnamese parents expect children to take care of them when they're older a bit more often than parents in like the USA I'm assuming. Vietnamese normally spoon feed children longer than others do like until the kids are five years old or maybe even eight or longer.
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Parents should let kids go through the process of growing-up gradually by themselves. Let kids learn how to teach themselves more how to ride bikes, how to cook, how to ask questions, and gradually give them more work, freedoms, responsibilities, as they get older. I learned at home from my mother. Some are helicopter parents and that can become more or too problematic.
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Should we post their pictures online? Our kids may not like it, but there is no reason they should not like it. Where do you draw the line between what you can or cannot do? And if we do not post baby photos of our children, others might and probably do already secretly. We live in a world full of security cameras outside, at stores, on laptops, phones, and everywhere, which means that the NWO and the CIA and shadows and many have those photos already regardless of whether we post them or not. Parents should be allowed to share them. Kids need to grow up. Because people will post things about us even when we don't like it. That never goes away. We will always have things we do not want others to see. Maybe, parents should not share the photos. I can understand that perspective. But that is not the whole story. It is not that simple.
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Great photos. I love what you are writing. Thanks.
I do have kids, 3 of them and the oldest (@walky123) is very tech-savvy. Asking permission as little ones has endowed them with the idea that their own online presence needs to be considered by THEM. Even if I didn't think it was necessary to ask permission (it totally is!), there's still this latency of impressing the kids with the importance of digital footprints.
I think children shouldn't be posted on social media but if it is it should be done on a private account where only followers can see the photo. But you should be very careful of where you post your childrens photos!
Agree! It wouldn't be hard for followers to save your childrens photos and post them on a public social media site if they wanted. So that can get scary too.
Others can still see the photos. There are ways around that.
should not post!!!!
I don't think anyone should post photos of anyone elses kids, but your own, I think its up to the parents. I personally think our culture has stolen too many rights from parents to make decisions about their childrens lives. We as society get so much wrong, so we shouldn't be so righteous to think we can dictate the best way to raise everyones children, it isn't working.
I like the television show called Father Knows Best.
I have thought about this topic in great depth. Not from the standpoint of the needing to ask for the kids permission. I'm also not a parent, I'm a kickass uncle and don't post any pictures of nieces or nephews. I often think about this issue from an annoyance perspective -- my annoyance. On facebook I am now conditioned to scroll as fast as humanly possible whenever I see a kid/baby picture. If only facebook had a baby blocker filter where they would cover up the babies faces with something more interesting (vegetables or snow globes possibly).
Lol, I love that idea @bek. Who knows, maybe some day there will be :-)
@kaylinart I don't show pictures of their children, as the Internet is not only good and kind people, there are also evil who may harm any of my children finding them in the photos or by copying their photos and posting on other sites.
So true!!! It's scary.
I think it shouldn't be posted without children's consent
I agree! At the very least. Although they may change their mind later .
I wouldn't want my daughter out there. That is the choice I would make.
My son has asked me not to post. I respect his wishes.
Aww I'm glad!! That will give him a chance to share what he wants later.
@kaylinart Upvoted Nice post and not to post child phots
thanks
:) :) :) :) :) welcome dear @kaylinart
I agree with you I talked with a guy yesterday he wants to go to collage after high school. He wants to learn things but due to curiousity he hacked into some website and sent to jail at the age of 17
It's sad that such precautions are necessary.
Right? I wish we lived in a world where it wouldn't matter how much you shared.
Maybe you are right, maybe not. I personally don't even post my pictures often. If I have a child I will do the same but occasionally it might be ok
I think the problem is so many people have relatives out of state they think it's a easy way to share pictures of their children. Personally I think if you want to share pictures of your kids just mail the picture to them.
This is a great point. I heard this discussed on Free Talk Live a while back. I had never really thought about it before that. Now I make sure to ask. Sometimes they mind, sometimes they don't. I do occasionally post pics of my baby, though. Obviously he can't give consent. For some reason, I feel it is ok.
Thank you for the post. It is certainly a subject we should think about and I never did until it was brought to my attention.
I will look forward to reading your future posts; so hope for you the best in this much interesting & challenging environment. I like writing about several topics that call my attention, from travel, life, politics to science, food and technology. Here are some of my last posts, that if you can, read them ,,,.. HAVE FUN.
https://steemit.com/life/@indepthstory/nice-island-beautiful-beach-lots-of-aquatic-sports-to-do-still-the-best-part-of-the-trip-was-been-in-family-all-together
https://steemit.com/life/@indepthstory/i-do-personally-find-it-very-rude-when-someone-with-which-i-am-talking-with-cuts-the-conversation-to-answer-the-cellphone
... find them interesting? click on the FOLLOW and leave some comments
bon voyage
@indepthstory
When one of my well to do friends posted about her kids getting lice... Oh yeah, I was stunned. Then some people who have given me their address to ship merchandise have also told me on separate occasions let me know when they are going to be out of town. I never tell when my house will be unoccupied. People are so careless!
BTW I left the kids home alone, a stack of hundreds sitting out and the door is unlocked. And I forgot to tell you where the kids go to school!
People, really.
It depends.
@kaylinart, I really appreciate this article. I have children, and I have been careful about what I have posted online about them, but I had never thought about how future advances in technology will take this to a new level.
Thanks for giving me a renewed wakeup call to be vigilant ALWAYS!
I will be sure to add your core content from this article to a future conversation with my children!
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I think I have only ever posted one pic of one of my children online for a lot of reasons above but also I don't really want to see my feed filled up with pics of others children. I care about my own children but have no interest in anyone elses so in the same respect as I don't want to know about others why would they want their own feed cloged up with pics of mine.
my children will definatly share the password and everything. :D im Turkish we are a bit different.
Anyway, you should be carefull!
Scary stuff. I tend to keep my family and their names including professions out of my posts and any other social media.
Great information and eye opener for us. I have always avoided sending a picture of my child onto facebook. My sister wanted to see how much my kid grew in the past yr or so and so I took a picture of the school photo and sent it to her via facebook message. In all the years of being on fb, that was the first time ever putting him online. As soon as she got the photo, I deleted the upload. She respects my wishes and took him off her account soon as she downloaded to her phone.
I don't trust very many people, so it is easy for me to keep personal stuff offline, except a random pic of me. Even being a parent, I do not get why the heck people want to post pics of naked kids. That is something that should be kept at home, not online. Whether people believe it or not, there are sicko's out there who get their thrilled off them photos.
You have to be cautious in today's world. It is sad to say but it is the way you have to be. There are too many stories that do not have happy endings because of the amount of sick and twisted people that are out there. The internet was the best thing for the sickos.
I have a daughter and never publish her photos to public web.
You shouldn't post any photos on the internet that you wouldn't want the worst kinds of people to see. If you're an adult, you can decide where to draw the line, but children are far more vulnerable.
i think it weird that 10 years photos online, and it opens a doors for pedos too.
I've decided not to post anymore pictures of my granddaughter working on her art projects because this site also has porn. I don't want my child's work or photos on social sites that also allow porn.
Depending on culture embarrassing or compromising pictures are dependent on cultural values.When I was a baby living in Europe many seaside beaches kids ran around naked and the women were topless, this was back in the 60s, I have photos to prove it! It was not a big deal back then and still isn't a big deal in many cultures and families.
When I grew up we ran free outside all day by the time we were ten years old and came home for dinner. No cellphone back in the 60s...now I see no kids playing outside, truly sad times...having a pervert look at a kids picture online won't hurt the child unless the pervert gets the child's address. You can get addresses from digital photos if your digital device location app is turned on.
What I find upsetting is a child's access to the net and social sites like Steemit where the have access to extremely sexually explicit content.
@kaylinart interesting thought about facial recognition and the future, really makes you think twice about that selfie ;)