Online legacy may haunt youngsters

Children who post something online today might regret it in later life, as it hard to remove the content.

Parents were warned by an expert that they may have to “manage their children’s reputation online”.

Mark Hall, managing director of www.Gotjuice.co.uk, a reputation management consultancy, said: “Communication has never been so easy, and we can share our information over multiple platforms and reach thousands of people at the touch of a button.

“It’s all too easy to share that embarrassing party photo on Facebook, or write a shocking or perhaps an unintentional negative comment. However, is very hard to completely remove this content later. What your children think is a good idea to post online today stands a good chance of causing regret later on in life.”

He warned parents that information on the internet was not so private, and the way children interacted on the web today could haunt them later in life.

He said parents should use tools such as Google Alerts or Twitter searches to monitor mentions of their children’s names, and suggested some basic guidelines.

Firstly, he said they should warn children that every time they update their Facebook status, upload a photo, or send a tweet, their private information is in the public domain. Secondly, children must be told university admissions, employers, and potential dates will be able to view this material and form an opinion of the child without their knowledge.