Privacy Fears is the Main Reason Parents Refrain from Sharing Family Photos Online
Just under a quarter of parents refrain from uploading family pictures of their children onto social networks, due to a lack of control over who sees the photos.
A new study by www.MyVoucherCodes, found that the main reason why mums and dads are prevented from uploading family pictures onto sites like Facebook is because they have no control over who can access their images.
The discount website polled 1,312 parents aged 25 and over with at least one child, and the research showed that 88 per cent of respondents actively use social networking sites.
At the end of the day, what you decide to share on social networks is up to you, but I would strongly advise that you check your privacy....
According to the results of the study, British parents use social networks for a variety of reasons; 69 per cent said they do to stay in touch with people, while 56 per cent look at people’s pictures and 45 per cent for sharing thoughts, pictures and news with others.
Mark Pearson, Chairman of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, said: “Facebook has without any doubt transformed the way people share information online and is probably the major reason why some people, especially parents, are hesitant about what they share.
“Privacy settings constantly seem to change, and it can be difficult to be sure exactly who has access to what’s being shared.”
Though a massive 77 per cent of respondents admit to uploading family pictures of their children onto social media platforms, the remainder claimed that they refrained from doing so because they felt like they have little control over who sees their photos; they don’t actually know what their privacy settings are; while some want to keep pictures of their children private and others are unsure of copyright rules, with some sceptics saying they don’t trust the internet.
Of the three quarters of parents who admitted that they did upload family pictures on social networks, 62 per cent did so on Facebook, whilst Twitter came in second place for 47 per cent of respondents and Instagram was the choice for 28 per cent.
Furthermore, the respondents were asked to specify at what age they thought that children should be allowed to use social networks. After taking all the answers into account, the average age at which British parents think children should be allowed to connect via social networks was 15.
Mark added: “At the end of the day, what you decide to share on social networks is up to you, but I would strongly advise that you check your privacy settings beforehand so you know who you are sharing your information and picture with.
“A rule of thumb is to simply avoid putting anything online that you’re nervous about sharing, but there are perfectly safe ways to share your family snaps with friends and family online; just ensure you’re doing so securely.”
For more information, visit www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk
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