Are selfies dangerous?

Most of us have taken them. Even US President Barack Obama has taken several, but are selfies a cause of concern?

One group has warned that selfies could pose several dangers to teenagers and that parents need to help their children understand what these are.

Macartan Mulligan, Co-founder of no-bullying.com, issued a press release on Tuesday, saying: “A selfie isn’t just a fun photo taken by a teen recording a good time — a selfie will go online and last forever and might never disappear. It all boils down to good parenting and a good explanation on the digital footprint we leave behind.”

He added that parents and teachers should make a point to educate the younger generations about the sad outcome of bullying online and offline. 

According to Mulligan, it is quite imperative to press for more firm laws condemning all acts of bullying and harassment.

He said part of the problem is that it is quite common for celebrities to take a selfie and post it to their Instagram or Twitter accounts and many teens want to mimic their heroes.

He said many teens don’t worry about the consequences.

For an example, the selfie can reveal the location of the people in the selfie, so imagine one stranger online detecting a teen’s hometown or home address all through one potentially harmless photo.

Mr Mulligan added another possible danger of the selfie is probably revealing information about someone they didn’t want to reveal, for an example, if a teen takes a selfie with a friend and the friend didn’t want their photo or face or personal information shared, it counts as invasion of privacy.

Mr Mulligan was also concerned that when a selfie is taken and posted, it gives out clothing descriptions of what they wear. He said if people are taking a lot of selfies they could end up giving out more information about their clothing brands and the stores they tend to shop at and this can lead to a stalker or other person learning more about the people and the patterns they have and the places they tend to frequent.