Back-to-school photos on social media pose online safety risks, experts warn

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

With the first day of school for many students in Mid-Missouri fast approaching, it’s important to protect your child’s information online. 

Sharing back-to-school photos on social media is a popular trend, but it comes with risks. The Department of Homeland Security says last year, there were more than 36 million reports of online child sexual exploitation worldwide. Data from the Department of Justice also shows that one in one-in-five children receives an unwanted sexual solicitation online every year, 

One of the biggest reasons for this is because children are easy targets, especially if there is information about them online. MU Health’s Safe Kid’s Coordinator Jennifer Brooks said information -- including identifying markers in the background of a photo -- can be used to determine the location of a child. She adds to keep details in social media posts to a minimum. 

“Don't put too much information on there because once you get their name, what their interests are,  what grade they're going into.. If someone were to be able to go in and get a picture of that, a screenshot of that, that wasn't going to be doing any good. They could probably find your child,” Brooks said. “If you put your city and state, they know where the school is and they know what their likes are.  So if they found your child, they could try to say, ‘Hey,  I know I kind of know you through your parents I know you like this.’ So the less is better.” 

Brooks added that it's also important to teach young children with smartphones that anything posted online is not private and is always accessible.  

"Kids in high school, they use Snapchat a lot. I have one (child) in high school, so they think there isn't a way to actually capture Snaps and then share them. So one of the things that I think a lot of them think is that there are places online where you can share things that are not going to be accessible,” Brooks said. 

Cyberbullying is also something to monitor throughout the school year, especially in older children. A 2022 study from the Pew Research Center found that 46% of teenagers in the United States had experienced some sort of bullying or harassment online. The study found it is especially common with teenage girls. Brooks says its important for parents to look for signs that their children are upset and ask questions 

“If they look like they're getting upset or it's urgent to get on their phone, bring the question up, ask it. If have you ever had someone take a video of you or say stuff about you online and send it to you? Sometimes the child won't even be in the video, but middle school kids and high school kids start not liking each other for various reasons because they're kids,” Brooks said. “Then, they'll make videos about the people that they don't care for.  So I think that that's important just to ask the question, like,  if they're bringing up their names, that's when it becomes an issue and then bring it up to the talk to the parent.

"Parents don't talk directly to each other. I think you should talk directly to the parent of the child that's doing these things. And I think you should also talk to the school, as well. They typically have their finger on the pulse for the most part,  as much as they can as to what's going on.  And you can even ask them what they're seeing, as well.”