A few years back nobody thought twice about posting images of little Jason or little Julie. The mages were basically for the benefit of family and friends, and few people thought about the possible consequences of those images being freely available to complete strangers online.
Now there's a growing realisation that those images could be stolen and abused in all sorts of repugnant ways, and it may be difficult to get the unwanted images removed.
We're now aware of images that have been "nudified" i.e. children stripped of their clothes. We're aware of children and parents being unwillingly recognised in the street. We're aware of fake identities cloned from the original.
And then there's the children themselves, who may object to having their image posted online, who might feel their privacy has been violated. Or they might just object to how they have been portrayed.
So a lot of parents are rethinking their impulse to put their children online. They might do it more sparingly, or they might keep their children offline altogether.
A shame that once again there's reason to be suspicious and cautious and mistrustful.
PS: Luckily I've never had to wrestle with this problem as Jenny and I don't have any children.
One can only hope more people become so hesitant. For those children whose parents already posted their pictures, it's too late. Anyone can download pictures, and anyone with access to the right software can modify them and re-post them endlessly. Once something is on the internet, it never totally goes away.
ReplyDeleteInfidel: We need to be aware that there are nasty people out there who don't care if their manipulated images upset someone.
DeleteA computer expert, who writes about his boy, has but one picture of his boy, taken from behind.
ReplyDeleteA science fiction writer, John Scalzi, who had photos and stories of his girl for years, told us that for every photo and story he checked with her first. Now, as an adult, her photo is on his blog as a co-author.
As for abused in repugnant ways, a lot of it is sexist. The BBC did a column saying that when not even Taylor Swift is safe, then girls feel like keeping their heads down.
Sean: Good to know he checked with his daughter before featuring her online. And yes, a lot of the abuse is blatantly misogynist and I wonder how the recipients manage to cope with it.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a sick world. Even making accounts private likely isn’t even safe.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: The world seems to get sicker every day. Some people just have no principles whatever.
DeleteI would like to post a couple of photos of my grandson but Liam has forbidden it. I understand and support his decision but it's a bit sad.
ReplyDeleteKylie: Good for Liam. Better safe than sorry.
DeleteI've never particularly liked my own image being online, let alone a child's image. I was as careful as I could be from day one of blog use in 2006! I imagine I've slipped up along the way though.
ReplyDeleteSx
Ms Scarlet: I try to avoid images of children, but when I use one I either assume they're happy to be online or I use an anonymous back view.
DeleteHello Nick,
ReplyDeleteYep. The internet is something to be cautious around. I think of my own childhood and the privacy and innocence, and I think I'm lucky not to have been exposed to online forums and the rest of it. I was quite old when my mum sat me down for a chat about the birds and bees ... I don't think the younger kids now are the same.
Liam: Yes, our childhoods were very different, private and innocent as you say. Social media is so hazardous in numerous ways that I'm only on Facebook to keep up with a few friends and that's it.
DeleteIt's really sad that people have to be cautious.
ReplyDeleteMary: It is. It takes all the fun out of whatever we're doing.
DeleteIn the past, I had posted photos of family members, including grandchildren and also identified them by name. I have mostly stopped doing so and now will only post a few photos for a special occasion and usually just use the terms grandson or granddaughter rather than actual names.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: Very wise. There are some totally ruthless people out there, who'll stop at nothing.
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