Back To School – Proud Paparazzi Parents

It’s back to school time and therefore social media channels are flooded. Flooded with the images of our children in their uniforms ready for the first day. Either the first day of school ever, or going into a new grade. It’s a time of pride and also sadness as parents realise their little ones are growing up fast. They want to record the moment for prosperity but these moments are inevitably shared with the world. Sometimes inadvertently because we share them to our social media channels that are not locked down.

Why is this a problem?

Unfortunately this world is not a safe one. The digital world in particular is home to predators. Pure and simple. There are people online using this amazing tool, the internet, to prey on people, young and old.

That picture you took of your little ones in their uniform, outside your home, or perhaps even outside the school contains a lot of information for a would be predator;

• where you live
• how old (approx) your children are
• which school your children attend

From that a lot more can then be determined. Especially if your children are also on social media sharing what they are doing and where they are at certain points during their day. If you haven’t disabled geo location on your phone or your children’s phone then you could be sharing exact GPS locations!

Something else to consider….

As  much as we don’t necessarily want them to. Children grow up. And when they become adults they suddenly realise how big their digital tattoo is and how they didn’t necessarily create it all. The ‘cute’ pictures parents post have become a permanent part of their online reputation and sometimes can be used against them. It’s not so cute having baby pictures of you online when other people decide to use them to embarrass you.

Why is this a concern? Well we have already had the first case of a teenager suing her parents for violating her privacy – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/14/austrian-teenager-sues-parents-for-violating-privacy-with-childh/  and this was last year!  Just something to think about.

We are THE Most Important Generation – of ‘Parents in the Digital Age’. Because we’re the first to have children who were born into it and are growing up in it.

We’ll set the precedent for future Tech-Balanced Kids.