The holiday season is officially over and all roads lead back to schools. With parents excited to share images of their little one starting new grades, it has been advised that this can potentially place the kids in danger of possibly being kidnapped.

Grade R and Grade 1 pupils are set to get the new academic year started while other students will be going back to school on Wednesday.

The reality is that technology has become more advanced and social media has added fuel to the fire over the years, which has contributed to the rise of kidnappings.

Adrian Standofrd  who is the Southern African Chief Technology Officer at cybersecurity company, ESET, has said parents posting photos of children on the first day of school might reveal critical information about them.

“When you post online, you are effectively removing some elements of privacy from your children’s lives, and it might seem harmless at first, but we never quite know how our children might feel about this in the future.”

“They might find the content embarrassing, or it might lead to them being a victim of cyberbullying. There is a lot of bad things that can happen,” Standford said.

A study done by UNESCO found that cyberbullying has negative consewuences on the education, health and well-being of children and young people.

In an effort to promote online security, Meta introduced its inaugural youth and safety comic book, #EbaSafeOnline, through a collaboration with Ethnikids Publishers which launched in the past year.

Meta emphasized that the comic book serves as a potent resource designed to equip parents and teenagers with the knowledge and skills to navigate social media securely.

The characters featured in the comic book address challenges commonly encountered by young people, fostering open communication between parents and their children.

Main image: Pixeles