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Other than ensuring a perfect portrait or group photo, no one really gives much thought to the commonly shared selfie.
But truth be told, photos too freely shared pose a risk to your teen or tween when falling into the wrong hands.
When sharing any kind of image, whether via social media or even text messaging apps with friends, it's best to remind your child of the adage: 'A picture is worth a thousand words'.
So much detail can be picked up on from only one photo, so in addition to who your child befriends online or what information they're sharing, parents should be as cautious about the images their children are posting to their profiles or sending to friends.
Here are a few guidelines you can pass along to your teens on what to bear in mind when sharing a selfie.
Location Location Location
While it may seem obvious, and chances are your tech-savvy teen may already be on top of turning off GPS tags or location settings, better safe than sorry.
Disabling geolocations cannot be stressed enough, and just in case your smart AF teen doesn't know how to do this, here's a comprehensive guide by Experian.com.
A less obvious tip is to ensure your teen steers clear of landmark locations when taking those selfies. Changing out of their school uniform before reaching for the selfie stick is also advised.
The billboard rule
In their book, Selfies, Sexts And Smartphones, social media legal expert, Emma Sadleir and psychologists Dr Lizzie Harrison share their golden rule regarding all things digital: the billboard rule.
Before digitising anything, ask your teen to think about whether they would be comfortable if what they were about to post was to somehow end up on a billboard with their name next to it?
Also see: 5 things teens need to know about cybersecurity
Let's talk about sex(ting)
While they may not be the kind of selfie you would like to think your teen is taking, stats say (unfortunately) they are sending and receiving sexts.
A 2018 global study found that "One in seven teens report that they are sending sexts, and one in four are receiving sexts." The research is based on the responses of more than 100 000 teens.
Sadly, there is no app for this one, and parents are advised to deal with the topic the old fashioned way.
Researchers suggest "parents and caregivers should be proactive, rather than protective and reactive, about talking to their teens about sexting."
When addressing the topic of sexting with your teen, "emphasise digital citizenship. Broadly, digital citizenship encourages individuals to act in a way that is safe, legal and ethical — in their online and digital interactions and behaviours."
See more tips on how to talk to your teen about sexting here: Do we really know what our kids are getting up to?
Compiled for Parent24 by Lesley-Anne Johannes.
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