2024-08-17 05:51:32
Summer, sun, beach and more: All of this is often posted on social media. But if children are in the pictures, caution is advised.
People who go on holiday often want to share their experiences with others. Social media is supposedly the perfect place for this. But according to the Association of the Internet Industry (Eco), you should be careful with photos of children. Alexandra Koch-Skiba, head of the Eco complaints office, gives four tips on how parents can protect their children when they send or share pictures online.
According to Koch-Skiba, it is generally advisable not to share photos of children and young people naked or only lightly dressed. This also includes photos in swimwear. These photos could fall into the wrong hands and be sexualized.
Many pedophiles are registered on social media such as Instagram, and the company does very little about it. This is the result of research by a reporter from the Wall Street Journal last year. The algorithm is said to even fuel child pornography.
Koch-Skiba also recommends making children’s faces unrecognizable when posting pictures. This can be done, for example, with a smiley, by pixelating them or by only photographing the back of the head. The reason: Even seemingly harmless photos can appear in paedophile forums if they are carelessly shared and published and can be put in the wrong context.
Important: Children have personal rights. By making their images unrecognizable, we ensure that these are protected.
It is also advisable to only share photos with selected people – for example with relatives or friends. According to Koch-Skiba, the common messenger services and social media platforms offer appropriate security settings for this.
Ultimately, according to Koch-Skiba, parents should involve their children wherever possible when it comes to who they share the photos with – at least when the children are a little older. The advantage: This prepares children for using social media as teenagers.
A study by the DAK health insurance company this year found that almost a quarter of ten- to 17-year-olds use social media such as WhatsApp, TikTok and Instagram to an excessively high degree of risk. It is therefore particularly important to prepare children for the use and handling of the platforms.