Advice to parents: ask for permission before sharing your kids' photos

About 30 percent of parents shared photographs or videos of their children on the internet without asking them, a survey by the Chinese Young Men's Christian Association of Hong Kong has found.

The association surveyed 793 parents and 1,094 primary and secondary students between September and November last year, and found that more than two-fifths of the children were embarrassed to find their information had been shared online by their parents.

However, about 60 percent of the parents believed their children would not feel embarrassed if they did so.

The association's development officer Isaac Yeung Chi-hin said that although parents generally agree that sharing children's information online will affect their privacy and are willing to make changes, some parents are indifferent.

Over four out of five parents have shared information about their children on social media.

Coordinating secretary Phoebe See Man-yan said that sometimes, when encountering happy or stressful events, parents tend to share information to engage with others socially.

She said parents hope to share the joy with others if they are proud of their children's achievements.

However, oversharing may cause unnecessary trouble for children, who may mistrust their parents, ultimately affecting parent-child relationship, See said.

"Parents think their children are cute and share them online [but this] may cause children to feel really scared," she explained.

"Imagine if the children grow up and find out all their past has been shared online, their personal information will leave permanent traces on the internet, which may embarrass them."

She said children need to feel secure, loved and respected.

"If children's needs for growth and development cannot be fulfilled, they may easily become negative, timid, lacking in security, distrustful of others and have difficulty establishing relationships with others, or may even act rebelliously and resist when they feel disrespected," See said.

Some students surveyed said they were mocked by their classmates and even faced bullying.

Hermina Ng Wing-hin, acting assistant privacy commissioner for personal data for complaints and criminal investigation, said parents should be considerate before sharing their children's information online as it cannot be erased completely and their privacy jeopardized, as web users could save or share them, or it could even be stolen.

The association recommends parents ask their children's permission before sharing information online and avoid posting personal information or compromising photos of the children.

If children ask to remove an old photo of themselves, parents should oblige and respect their decisions.

marcus.lum@singtaonewscorp.com