The Internet firm VPNOverview has released information on why can be dangerous to put a child on social media unsupervised. This is because there has been an increase of child-centred TikTok accounts and some cases of concern.
Mehak Siddiqui, Privacy Expert from VPNOverview tells Digital Journal that parents need to know about the dangers of putting children on social media. By understanding this, online safety can be strengthened.
According to Siddiqui: “Sharing your kids photos online seems innocuous, fun, or even necessary at times but what most people don’t realize is that there’s a ton of data attached to any piece of digital media. When you share your child’s photos online, you are also revealing within it automatically generated metadata that includes the GPS location where it was created, the time and date, device information, and more.”
While some parents may not necessarily see this as an issue, Siddiqui warns: “This might not sound risky for the one-off photo but think of all the photos and videos you share online and it adds up to a detailed map of where your child usually is at specific times.”
In terms of the implications, Siddiqui outlines: “This makes it easy for almost anyone to track down where your child goes to school, for instance, or the places they frequent with friends, and of course, where you live. As several cases have shown, stalkers and other offenders can use this information to physically track down your child, which points to the true dangers of sharing children’s photos online.”
Siddiqui adds: “It’s incredibly easy for people to steal your child’s images and use them for all sorts of things, from fake accounts to pornography and even identity theft.”
There are other dangers too, says Siddiqui: “It can even propagate cyberbullying and online abuse that have a serious impact on the health and safety of kids and teens.”
These issues are not addressed by inadequacies with some content providers, as Siddiqui explains: “What’s more, privacy settings offered by social media apps are often inadequate to provide comprehensive protection. So, it’s advisable to altogether avoid sharing your children’s photos online.”
To aid readers, Siddiqui has released some important tips in protecting children online. These are:
- How to protect your child online
- Keep Your Computers in a Common Room
- The best place for the family computer is in a communal living area, where children know that a parent may look over their shoulder at any time. This will ensure that kids understand that they are being supervised.
- Anytime you’re not there, consider using internet monitoring software that blocks harmful websites should your child choose to access them.
- Set Time Limits on Devices
- The Internet is a fantastic tool for learning new things and curing boredom – but too much time spent on it is hardly good for anyone.
- Thankfully, devices will let you set limits on their usage. This means that they will shut off after an allotted time, meaning you won’t constantly have to keep checking on them.
- Don’t Let Them Upload Photos of Themselves
- Once you upload a photo to the Internet, it’s potentially out there forever. It’s sensible to enforce a blanket ban altogether on photo sharing because you just cannot know what might come of those photos.
By observing these measures, Siddiqui is of the view that the safety of young people engaging with online content will be strengthened.
