Think twice before sharing your child's back-to-school photo.

As the new school year begins, parents are eager to share pictures of their children in their first day of school outfits. It's a natural trend on social media, but experts are warning that these seemingly innocent posts may actually be putting children at risk. According to HuffPost, online safety experts have expressed concerns that these back-to-school pictures can be used by scammers and predators for malicious purposes.

The trend of back-to-school posts often includes details such as the child's name, school name, teacher's name, and even their birthday. However, parents should be cautious about sharing this information, as it could potentially lead to strangers showing up unannounced at their child's school. Iskander Sanchez-Rola, the Director of Privacy Innovation at Norton, pointed out that by sharing these details, anyone can easily know where a child is during the majority of the day, Monday through Friday. This thought alone is enough to make any parent feel uneasy.

But it's not just the personal information that parents should be concerned about. The Director also warned that scammers can use a child's full name or even a photo of their face, which can be found through reverse image searches, to target them online. This is especially concerning for children who are old enough to have social media accounts like Facebook or Instagram. Cybercriminals can use this information to directly contact the child, putting them at risk.

Google's Help page explains that reverse image searching works just like searching for a word or phrase. This means that when you drag and drop an image into the search bar, the results will include objects in the image, similar images, and websites that have the same or similar image. So, even if a parent is careful not to share personal information, a simple photo can still lead to potential dangers for their child.

In addition to the potential safety risks, HuffPost also notes that posting pictures of young children or teenagers can have negative consequences as they get older. What may seem like a cute and harmless photo to a parent may be embarrassing for their child in the future. Kaitlin Allair Tiches, a research librarian with the Boston Children's Digital Wellness Lab, explains that children often worry about their friends or classmates seeing embarrassing posts of them online. She reminds parents that what may seem silly to them now may not be so funny to their child in the future.

It's important for parents to be mindful of what they share online, especially when it comes to their children. As Olympic athlete Dominique Dawes, who has experienced the negative effects of being in the public eye, has stated, she will not allow her children to endure what she did in gymnastics. So, before hitting that "post" button, it's worth taking a moment to consider the potential consequences and whether or not it's truly worth it. After all, the safety and well-being of our children should always be the top priority.

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