It’s common to publish pictures online, technically it’s simple but it’s not always a good idea. We recommend that parents talk with their children about sharing pictures of themselves online.

• Pictures can easily be spread or copied.
• Pictures can be manipulated and put in a different context.
• Pictures can attract unwanted and dangerous attention from strangers.
• Pictures could be available indefinitely and this could lead to negative consequences later in your child’s life.

Advice for parents about picture publishing:
1. Talk with your children about personal protection online. Children should be critical to sharing information about themselves online and via mobile.
2. Talk with your children about what could happen to their pictures online.
3. Listen and try to understand why your child might have posted a picture of himself or herself.
4. Agree on rules for publishing pictures online and via mobiles.

Advice for teenagers about picture publishing:
1. A good self-image is not to be confused with a good mirror image. Don’t publish personal pictures of yourself to get attention from others.
2. Be critical to posting pictures of yourself where strangers can see who you are.
3. If you want to post images of yourself they should have low resolution and you should avoid close ups.
4. Be critical to what information you share in your profile on different webpages: information can be misused by others.
5. Remember that you loose control over your picture as soon as it’s shared online. An image of you can easily be spread to others.
6. Think it through before letting your girlfriend/boyfriend take pictures of you. The relationship pictures can live longer than the relationship and might be misused later.
7. Don’t publish pictures of others without asking for their permission.
8. When you publish pictures or information about yourself, the possibility of being approached by strangers increases. The further you go in publishing daring pictures or taking part in sexually related chatting, the bigger the risk of unwanted attention.