YOU REALLY CANNOT strike a sultry pose on Bebo or Facebook and hope that it's just a throwaway moment. That's because anything titillating is going to be scraped and passed around by dozens of people. I've seen some of the watchlists used by lurkers to scope out interesting (often puerile) content so they can add it to their personal stash. If you don't want your image to appear in the modern day equivalent of alt.binaries, you should consider some sage advice from Conor Ryan. The Irish Examiner gives him a page to discuss how mobile phones became a menace (and became a matter of concern for Childline in Ireland), how most parents steer away from looking at what's on their teenagers' pones, and why hyper-active texters normally fall outside the reach of European rules for data protection because of they qualify for a "household exemption". I think it's important to pass along some simple guidelines for safe usage of a mobile phone.
-- Every electronic message leaves a trail that can last forever. If you would not want a picture surfacing in the future, do not send it or pose for it in the first place.
-- Avoid keeping intimate photographs on devices liable to be lost or stolen.
-- Do not post pictures of another person online or distribute them without permission. If you snap shots of people in public places and upload them to Flickr, lock them down as private or ensure copyright permission is set to "all rights reserved".
-- If you stumble across compromising pictures of somebody you know, tell them.
-- When a person asks you to delete a photography, oblige. Delete it, because the tables could turn some day.
-- Where a person refuses to take down a picture, complain to the social networkign site directly. The mainstream sites have straightforward complaints' procedures in order to have shots removed.
-- For children, consider safe phones where it is practical. These restrict the numbers it will be allowed to call or text and these safe phones are set up to allow parents to monitor the call traffic.
Conor Ryan -- "Don't Strike that Pose" in the features section of the Irish Examiner, 15 Sep 09. Photo shot during a Transition Year Schoolworks programme in Tipperary Institute.
