Be careful what photos you post or share

I follow Trim Healthy Mama (THM) on Facebook and often surprised by women who post photos of themselves in revealing clothing such as swimwear to show off their weight loss. I am equally amazed at women who show off their tummies (revealing skin) when pregnant. 

Whilst I use social media and have witnessed its many positive attributes — it also has a very dark and evil side that some women have forgotten about. This blog post is a timely reminder to be CAREFUL when posting photos, think twice. It is also about sharing intimate photos of yourself with someone else. 

Firstly to pregnancy — it turns out my concern was well grounded. Pregnancy support groups are warning expectant mothers about the dangers of posting photos of their bellies online in case they are stolen for use on porn sites. Groups in Australia, New Zealand and Canada said people posing as pregnant women had solicited photos for use on pregnancy fetish sites. (source: ABC News) 

We do not live in an innocent world, even beautiful photos of pregnant women are being used on fetish sites by those who are sexually deranged and get turned on by pregnant women.  Once your photo is on a social media site, you have no control over who copies it and reuses it elsewhere. And if you are one of many who use your real name — that too can be linked to your photo and be placed on sites that could cause you (and your family) much distress. One photo can spread like wildfire and you will loss control of it. In fact when I was looking for a photo for this post, I was amazed at the number of photos of semi-naked pregnant women on Pinterest — some quite revealing. 

Whilst this sounds alarming — it does happen and we always need to think twice before posting photos that you don't won't others to look at in a perverted way. I would likewise say the same about photos of mothers breastfeeding their babies — be careful where these are posted, it might just be innocent to you, but it may not be to others. 

The sharing of intimate photos isn't something perhaps you do  — BUT it is done by many men and women without thinking of the consequences. Women often (however this isn't exclusive to women) take selfies of themselves in revealing positions and send these photos to their boyfriend/partner/husband via a smart phone.  Couples video themselves having sex never thinking that everything might go pear shaped. When the relationship turns sour — these imagines can find their way to one of the many "revenge porn" sites as a way of getting back at their ex. Once one intimate photo is placed on one of these sites (and there is around 3,000 sites) you have no control over it at all and getting one photo remove is almost impossible, just imagine if many are posted. For ultimate revenge, ex's have been known to post these photos on prostitute sites making the woman look like she is a prostitute. 

Many photos are deliberately posted with names and addresses attached and women find themselves bombarded with sexually explicit requests, which can ruin future relationships, people have lost their jobs are a result, it has caused embarrassment and humiliation to friends and family and in some very tragic cases, result in suicide. This problem has become so bad that countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany and some US states now have new laws in place to prosecute such crimes and it can result in a prison sentence. 

The message is simple — BE CAREFUL in what you post or who you post photos too. Train your young adults to be careful what they share on Facebook, teach them about on-line bullying and the dangers of intimate photos. 

Think twice, is it worth it? Because, once posted you no longer have any control over it. 

That also includes photos of your children. 

We live in a very evil world and what you might think innocent is seen through a different light by others.

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