Mumbai, August 28: Open any social media account today and you will be flooded with pictures of babies in your friend list. Right from the time, they are inside their mother's tummy to newborn shoots, to their first smile, the first cry, first crawl, the first holiday, everything is under the glare of social media lense today. In spite of the rise in online predators and paedophiles, parents continue to do so.

According to a Times of India report,  a survey titled 'The Age of Consent’  conducted with 1,000 parents of children aged one month to 16 years across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, has found that most of the people are aware of posting pictures of their children on social media, but has no qualms in doing so.

According to the report,  parents in Mumbai, comprising of 66.5 percent feel that they have the right to post pictures of their children without consulting them. Delhi is second in the list with 61 percent and Bangalore with 55 percent echo the similar sentiment.

What is more alarming about these statistics is that 76 percent of the people are aware of possible crimes which can arise due to sharing pictures of their child- including paedophilia, stalking, kidnapping and cyber-bullying. According to the study, Mumbai parents are most active with 48 percent posting a picture of their child at least once a day, compared to Delhi (38.5 percent) and Bangalore (31 per cent).

Social psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty as quoted in the report said, “Most parents believe nothing can go wrong with their child... There’s an overwhelming need among parents to feel good about every little achievement of their child and bask in that glory as their own enterprise. Also, Indian parents believe children have no right to their own choices.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 28, 2018 12:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).