A Plea For Action

In today’s world, most of us are social media savvy. Gone are the days when people used to be categorised as introverts and extroverts. Today we are categorised in terms of our social medial activity. As exciting as it is to be popular and to get infinite number of likes and comments on our Facebook posts, and Twitter feed, it can be very dangerous. 

I cringe when I see parents posting pictures of their babies. Parents, please understand the world is not a nice place, especially the online world and the pictures of your children, even the ones aesthetically shot by seasoned photographers can find their way to disturbing paedophile forums. (Should parents post pictures of their children on Facebook with paedophiles lurking in our midst?)

I have urged several parents, friends and colleagues to not post any pictures, videos of their children on any of the social media platforms and my pleas have mostly fell on deaf ears. I know people who circulate pictures of the children of their friends and family around to others to get attention. Imagine, if I am being sent pictures of children I don’t know, who else might be getting them? Scray, isn't it?

Seeing pictures of babies in diapers, without proper clothes on, even for the purpose of a photoshoot traumatises me. I am sure most of these parents, at some point in life have faced nasty stalkers and sexual predators so I do not understand why they would want their infants and toddlers to be subject to such despicable crimes. 

Parents need to understand that social media is beyond their control and no number of privacy settings can help them control the actions of others. Parents, I urge you to take action and protect your little ones. Remember and realise that when you do not even have control on the number of likes and retweets, how can you imagine having control on how media containing your children is spread?

There are several activists who are campaigning to protect your children; the least you can do to help is not post pictures and videos of your most prized possessions. Isn’t prevention always better than a cure?