Ever since cameras became available to the average consumer, parents have been capturing - and sharing - images of their kids’ major milestones. Over the last decade, however, the way we share photos of our children has taken on a digital dimension that comes with a unique set of considerations. Sharing pictures of your children on social media can violate their privacy, and it may even put them at risk in the future. Before you even announce your pregnancy online, you should start thinking about how to minimize your child’s digital footprint and respect his or her rights.
The Issue of Consent
Young people are often portrayed as “digital natives” who have little concern for online privacy, but research doesn’t support this assumption. Family interviews conducted by the London School of Economics revealed that children as young as four prefer to be consulted before their pictures are shared online. Some children also expressed a desire for their parents to post images of them less frequently.
As children grow into adolescents, their desire for control over their image only increases: Socially-conscious teens make a particular effort to curate their online presence, often to the point of creating fake Instagram (“finstagram”) profiles to direct attention away from the genuine, private accounts they share with friends. Having private accounts allows teens to experiment with their image without worrying about being judged by family members. Publicly posting an unflattering photo, or a photo that contradicts the personality your teen wants to portray to his or her peers, can violate your teen’s strong desire for privacy and autonomy.
It’s also a myth that all teenagers enjoy sharing their private lives on social media; some teens actively avoid posting “selfies,” while others would rather not use social media altogether. When you start sharing images of your children from a young age, you deprive them of the right to choose their own level of online engagement.
The anxiety kids have about what their parents are sharing online is grounded in far more than a simple fear of embarrassment. Images and anecdotes shared by parents can become useful material for bullies who want to threaten, humiliate, or otherwise harm their peers. This danger is of particular concern in an era when young people are being forced to contend with both online and offline harassment.
The Perils of Data Collection
Digital photographs may look like static images, but they contain a wealth of data hidden beneath the surface. From a single photo, malicious parties can potentially find a person’s name, location, and date of birth. Once someone knows you or your child’s full name and location, it’s usually relatively easy for them to find other details, like your address and phone number. Sharing your child’s photo on certain social media sites, like Facebook and Instagram, will also expose your child to facial recognition software.
In addition to the physical dangers inherent in sharing this kind of personal data with the world, posting photos of your child could increase your child’s risk of identity theft and “digital kidnapping.” Digital kidnapping is a form of identity theft wherein people steal images of a child, then pretend that child is their own (by posting the stolen images to their own social media accounts). According to forecasts generated by Barclay’s in the UK, by 2030, public photo sharing by parents will account for fully two-thirds of all identity fraud.
The rise of predatory marketing tactics provides another compelling reason to avoid data over-sharing: Online data about our likes and dislikes, financial status, age, race, religion, political affiliation, etc., is constantly being collected and sold to advertisers. The more data you provide about your child, the easier it becomes for advertisers to target him before he’s old enough to make informed purchasing decisions.
Even if you lock your child’s images behind privacy filters (which many parents do), you may still be sharing more of your family’s personal information than you realize. Many people add strangers and passing acquaintances to their friends’ list on Facebook, for example, then make pictures of their children visible to all of their friends. Data breaches can also reveal sensitive information about your family to hackers and identity thieves.
How to Share Photos of Your Child Safely
Social media sharing can be beneficial for families, depending on their individual circumstances. If you have a number of geographically distant relatives, for example, Facebook and similar sites provide a convenient way to bring everyone closer together. To enjoy the positive aspects of social media while limiting the risks to your children, try using the following strategies:
- Only share photos of your children with family members and close friends. Ask your family and friends not to share images of your children online.
- Turn off location services and facial recognition whenever possible. Be careful to avoid taking pictures in places that could reveal your location, e.g., in front of your house. Never publicly post your child’s birthday party photos, as strangers can discover your child’s date of birth and location from such images.
- Remove the EXIF metadata from your digital images. Deleting metadata gets rid of the hidden information encoded in photos, providing some protection in the event that your photos are leaked.
- Talk to your children about online privacy. Make your kids aware of the dangers of sharing too much personal information online. Ask for your child’s consent before you share his or her picture with friends and family members via the internet.
Discussing important issues like personal safety, boundaries, and mutual respect with your child will help him develop valuable social skills and reaffirm his trust in you. Even if your child eventually decides not to participate on social media, those lessons will help him thrive in an increasingly complex world.
