Pictures of children on the Internet, or sharenting – how to do it with a head?

In Western countries, over 80% of children under the age of 2 already have a digital footprint on the Internet. The average parent in Poland uploads an average of 72 photos of their child per year. Do you know what dangers may be connected with inconsiderate publishing of children’s photographs in the net?

We can say that sharenting is already a common phenomenon. As many as 23% of children start to be visible in the Internet before they are even born – future parents willingly publish ultrasound photos and recordings of their offspring. In Poland, already 40% of parents regularly share photos of their babies

Sharing baby photos online can be dangerous in some cases. In connection with the growing phenomenon of sharenting, the Ministry of Digitalisation and the NASK Academy developed a guide for parents – “Sharenting and child image in the web”, which will help to eliminate potential dangers connected with publication of child photos and recordings. Get to know the rules of publication, which will help to avoid possible dangers.

How to safely publish photos of children on the Internet?

1. Before you publish a photo of your child, ask yourself why you are doing this Answer the questions: Does the photo make your child ridiculous? Does it violate his/her privacy or dignity? Is it embarrassing?
2. Enable privacy settings that limit the number of people the photo can be seen by – never leave the settings public (in the case of Facebook).
3. Don’t post intimate photos of your child naked or semi-naked – such photos, if they end up in the wrong hands, can contribute to real danger.
4. Do not share material that compromises the child.
5. Before you post a picture or video, think about your child’s future – would you want similar material about you to be seen on the Internet? Wouldn’t your child feel embarrassed if a potential employer, schoolmates or future partner saw the picture you posted?

Remember that the Internet has a “long memory” – in the virtual world nothing is forgotten, published materials are constantly available and some of them are difficult to remove. You should also be aware of the fact that a photo published on the Internet is no longer our property and after sharing it, we lose control over it – we are not sure who and how will use it. Therefore, before we share a photo of our toddler, we should consider whether there are any potential risks involved.

The guide has been prepared as a part of the campaign “Don’t lose your child in the net”. Its full version can be downloaded here (at the bottom of the page).

Source: Gov.pl