"Children are at increased risk of being harassed, cyber-bullied and having their identities stolen in later life by having their photos posted online by parents, according to new research. So-called "sharenting" - documenting a child's special moments on social media - has become commonplace, but academics now warn this could come with unexpected risks. University of Southampton researchers said their findings indicated it increased the risk of children becoming the victims of cyber-crime."
"The researchers surveyed more than 1,000 parents in the UK, and then conducted follow-up interviews. They found 45% of parents they spoke to actively put photos of their kids online - while one-in-six reported their child had experienced harms. One concern is that the media being shared online could reveal details like birthdays, addresses, pet names, and so on - which later in life could increase the risk of identity fraud."
""These findings highlight the serious risks which children can face when photos and videos of them are shared widely on social media," the NSPCC child safety online policy manager Rani Govender told the BBC. "Sharing photos or videos of children at scale across the online world can put their safety, privacy and wellbeing at risk," she said. The researchers surveyed more than 1,000 parents in the UK, and then conducted follow-up interviews."
Sharenting, the posting of children's photos and videos on social media, is now common and carries multiple safety risks. A survey of more than 1,000 UK parents with follow-up interviews found 45% of parents actively post images of their children and one in six reported their child experienced harms. Shared media can reveal personal details such as birthdays, addresses and pet names, which can enable identity fraud later in life. Shared images also increase the risk of cyberbullying, unwanted contact from strangers both online and offline, and long-term privacy and wellbeing harms.
Read at www.bbc.com
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