S̲h̲o̲u̲l̲d̲ ̲p̲a̲r̲e̲n̲t̲s̲ ̲b̲e̲ ̲b̲a̲n̲n̲e̲d̲ ̲f̲r̲o̲m̲ ̲u̲p̲l̲o̲a̲d̲i̲n̲g̲ ̲p̲h̲o̲t̲o̲s̲ ̲o̲f̲ ̲t̲h̲e̲i̲r̲ ̲c̲h̲i̲l̲d̲r̲e̲n̲ ̲o̲n̲l̲i̲n̲e̲?̲
Hello Steemians, the topic of parents uploading photos of their children online without their permission has been widely discussed over the past few years. Some people claim that it is ok and even good that parents upload photos of their children to the social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.), other claim that this is an issue which should be stopped. In my opinion, the second opinion is the right one.
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First and foremost, each person has privacy which nobody can take from him/her.
If someone doesn't want to have him/her photos online and be visible to everyone including people that person doesn't even know, then those photos really shouldn't be shared online. One of the worst things is that parents these days upload online photos of their children without even letting their children know that. Their children don't really know (yet) what social media is. Therefore, this can't be done by parents. They have to at least have the acceptance of their children to upload those photos before the action.
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In addition, it can hurt those children unintentionally.
The children whose pics are being uploaded online by their parents can look ridiculous in those photos, and it may cause other children to laugh at them, which can create self inconfidence of those children. If a parent uploads a photo of him/her child without letting him/her know, then this child can really suffer from it at school, the worst thing is that this child doesn't even know that the photo of him has been uploaded to the social media.
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Bearing this in mind,
I strongly believe that parents should not be allowed to post photos of their children without their permission. Although they are young, they have to be taught what the social media is, and then they will be able to take responsibility for the consequences of what is being uploaded online.
What do you think? Should parents be banned from uploading photos of their children online without their permission?
Who is going to decide whether parents should post pictures? The government? And what is the consequence? Every law must eventually be enforced with guns. I'm not downplaying the threat of child exploitation, but when it comes to the deployment of force (which should be limited), we have bigger fish to fry. In addition, parents have to be the ones making the decisions relating to the health and safety of their children, wherever and whenever possible. I don't think it's a good idea for third-parties to start making these decisions for parents. All that said, your post is thought-provoking and I have upvoted.
Most Western nations already have agencies that determine the fitness of parents regarding child-rearing. In the US, CPS has the authority to remove any child from "unfit" parents. If the OP's suggestion is adopted, CPS-like agencies will no doubt be the enforcers.
Your comment is quite valid in questioning the practicality of enforcing such a legislation. The child protective bureau will need to be enlarged dramatically to patrol the internet and enforce the new rules. Special judiciary will need to be set up to process the custody hearings arising from CPS enforcement. New surveilance powers will need to be ratified to empower CPS to effectively monitor the internet. Like the "drug war" and "war on terror," the cost of war on child photos will be born mostly by the poorer class of our society.
The political question is whether the lower class can bear the additional cost without revolting.
In my state, CPS has a horrible track record of protecting children. The last thing we want to do is have them coming after parents who post pictures of their kids on social media.
CPS-like agencies around the world have poor records, regarding child welfare. The nature of bureacracy is that each department carve out fiefdom within the government and its primary purpose becomes maintaining that fiefdom. In essence, the departments have no interest in solving the problem, only expanding their mandate, so their funding increases. I hope some CPS spook is not considering the OP's concerns and drafting a proposal.
"The nature of bureacracy is that each department carve out fiefdom within the government and its primary purpose becomes maintaining that fiefdom." You nailed it!!!
I agree with you, @soo.chong163. Thank you for posting this great comment!
Thank you, @kiporen212! I appreciate the opinion of yours. I think that parents should take responsibility for the photos they upload online. However, there are parents who harm their children with no intention!
I get it. Not saying I am right. I just think if we set up a government bureau to police this, pretty soon it will be an employment agency for bureaucrats, and the interests of children will be secondary.
Yeah...
I've been thinking about this for some time and I haven't reach a solid conclusion. In one hand we all know great parents that share some things of their children, we like to watch their happiness and every thing seems ok. On the other hand if one think parents are not the children's owners, this practice may seem abusive. If those we label good and responsible parents are allowed to do that, so are the others.
Putting legal issues aside, It's exposure without permission and they might not like that when they grow up. Do I mind showing my infancy or childhood photos?! Absolutely not as long as I get to choose the photos and the people.
What would I do...
Perhaps I don't share any. Perhaps I will come to Steemit and share a lot.
Who knows?!
I really have to reach to a conclusion before I become a father!
Thanks for your post. It arises some interesting issues.
Thank you so much for your support and for this great comment, @rmach. I think that all parents should at least let their children know that they upload their photos online. This is the minimum!
I think, there is a portion here that is irrelevant. I mean, why will you not allow parents sharing their kids online? Its a way of showing that they love and they're proud with their kids.
However, there is also a portion that is relevant and that is the content of this article. Hoping for more of your posts. More power, mate!
Yup, @jassennessaj, I meant to parents who upload photos of their children without the permission of their children, it can harm them! Thanks for commenting ;)
I agree wholeheartedly.
It's weird, this new information age is. When I was young my pictures were in my family albums where only relatives and friends could see them. Nowadays parents upload pictures of their kids on instagram and facebook without any regard for the consequences.
I can't imagine all of my family photos being up on the internet somewhere :D I dunno it's just creepy. But to each his own.
LOL, yeah this sounds really creepy! Thanks for sharing your opinion, @grocko!
@lazariko12 While I understand the right to privacy and respecting someone's autonomy, even a child, I have to disagree that parents should be banned from posting on social media about their children. With the advancement of technology, I personally believe social media especially Facebook and Instagram have become the new and improved family scrapbook! An easy clutter free way to document and preserve sentimental family and childhood memories. I wish my grandparents had a digital way to preserve the childhood memories of my parents instead of keeping plastic tub upon plastic tubs of photos, birthday invites and handmade macaroni school projects that will never be looked at again. That is until the garage or attic gets cleaned out and we take a picture of the mentioned above and put it on Facebook as a #tbt.
Nice post bro
Thanks, @apasteem! I really appreciate your support : )
Hi, interesting article, I think it doesn't matter as by the time this child will be able to see the picture hes old enough to look different and shouldn't affect his or her self confidence.
I have just got steemit and posted my first article, would be great if you checked it out!
Thanks for sharing your opinion, @mystifact! I will check out your post :)
Define children, are we talking about little toddlers who parents annoyingly spam especially newborns all over their facebook pages? While it irritates the fuck out of me, no I don't think it should be banned they're only children. They're going to end up looking so different when they're older compared to what they are now.
As for teenagers and so on, I don't know about illegal but the teenagers in question should somehow be able to file a request perhaps? I think that does potentially fall within violation of privacy and so on if the parents just don't fucking care and upload anything for anyone to see.
I do find it remarkable that within a society teenagers in particular seem to have fuck all rights despite being individuals perfectly capable of free thought.
Yes and no. That frontal lobe doesn't fully develop until 25 years of age in males.