Do You Think You Have the Right To....?

If I'm out in public, anyone in my vicinity can see what I'm doing. As long as they're not trying to sneak a camera up my skirt, shoving one into my face, or following me around after I've told them to leave me be, I don't think it's a big deal.
Last weekend, I was out dancing with a friend to music being played by another friend's band, and had no idea another patron was shooting video until I saw the two of us dancing on the band's facebook page. No harm done.

Well, I don't know about the rights or whether its a privacy issue but I think it is unethical and I personally wouldn't do it. For me, I try (maybe not always successfully) to treat others with respect and dignity. Also, when in public, we don't know a strangers circumstances, background or abilities. For this reason I try not to make judgements. I feel that most of these memes are judgemental.

I am the WRONG person to ask about this.

*I* have trouble getting my kiddos IN the frame if *I* am taking the pictures!

My youngest daughter has a nice picture of her knees from homecoming last year courtesy of me! lol

***I miss pete for SOOO many reasons. His photography is one of the million reasons!***

And, to answer the question, I do NOT have an expectation of privacy while 'in' public. Hence I try (even when shopping @ walmart), to be reasonably presentable.

it's an evolving social paradigm, isn't it? on the one hand, if i'm out and about, say at a carnival or festival or the mall, i don't particularly care if someone snaps a shot and i'm in it. but if i (or my kids) ended up as as the butt of a snarkfest, i'd be lying if i said it wouldn't hurt or bug me.
and yet, i go to 'people of walmart' with the greatest of glee, so i suppose i'm being a bit of hypocrite.
good question. good stuff to think about.
khairete
S.

Well, it isn't illegal. Would I like it? No. Would I do it, no. But I do get shots of people who are in the background of my pictures and I post them on fb. I try not to but it happens. I don't know why someone would be "sneaking" a picture of you and/or your kids. I guess it happens. No, I don't think we should "worry" about it. If you are so worried about what MIGHT happen, I guess you'd have to stay home.

Meh, I'm not an uptight person so I really don't care at all. Of course if someone happened to snap an unflattering shot of me and it became some viral online joke, sure I would be upset, but more hurt than angry I think, because to do that to a person is just mean.
I have albums (both physical and online) full of photos from our travels and all kinds people I don't know are in those shots, some in the background and some I took on purpose. I never thought anything of it.

What on earth are you doing that someone sees your family and wants to make you into a meme? If someone wants to go into public places and act the fool I figure they want their picture taken. I have snapped pictures of some odd looking people and I have made fun of them on FB.

Normal folk have never moved me to go through the bother of getting my phone out.

Okay looking at other responses, yes, I admit to being juvenile but rude? Sorry but you walk out in public with a muffin top that could take on Godzilla you are asking to have a picture taken and made fun of.

Okay looking at more answers, I don't make fun of people who are just people. I am not perfect, no one is. Just when you see the guy with the gold chains and leisure suit, you have to post the 80s called and they want their suit back, or Mr T called and wants his look back...

I have chuckled at the Walmart site photos (I know it's not nice) and there have been plenty of times I've been tempted to (like the girls walking in front of me at the mall whose pants were so tight their butt crack was squeezed out like cleavage - obscene!)
But I don't think it's right to do so.

By doing so we are setting ourselves up as superior. God sees us all the same - we just have different sins. For those of us feeling superior it's pride.

"Should we really have to worry about the possibility of someone sneaking a shot of us and/or our kids when we don't know about it?"
I guess you can choose to worry about it or not, but unless you are wanted or in a witness protection program what's the point? I have enough more important things to spend my time worrying about, strangers possibly taking photos of me in public isn't even on my radar.

Are you in public? What right to privacy do you expect in public? People take pictures every day...I'm in DC - so if I'm out and about - someone, somewhere is snapping a picture and most likely posting it to their FB page, Twitter account, MySpace, etc. You realize that there are cameras EVERYWHERE recording you, right? Privacy? You really don't have it.

If I show up on someone's wall with a snarky remark? Shows the depth of the person posting...why stress over it?

Maybe you should be more telling on what the comment was? If it was snarky about my kids? yeah..I find out about it - I might address the issue...

Slippery slope.
I suspect the "right" you're referring to is a still-evolving issue.
A friend posted a picture of the (very) ugly, odd shirt of the man in line on front of her at a cafe. Truly O. of a kind...thank goodness his face was cut off because then, in my opinion, it would have crossed a line.
Who knows what pix of me, hubs,family are out there..in the background at the beach, public places, etc. That doesn't really bother me.
There have always been twisted people in society, and they have always fed the twist with what's available to them at the time...probably always will...
It kind of always falls back to people's intrinsic senses of appropriateness and good taste, doesn't it?

ETA: again--these answers illustrate the lack of good taste & sense of what's appropriate. Like another poster I would think less of people that do this on a regular basis. It's O. thing to "think" an insult--quite another to put it on The internet like you're the fashion police, right?

First of all, I don't own a smartphone, so the point is rather moot.

That said, if I did own one, no, I wouldn't take anyone's picture and post it. I think that in the past 6+ years I've been blogging and online, I've posted maybe three or four pics, total. None of them had any strangers or anyone else's kid in them.

Personally, this isn't something I worry too much about. No, I don't like it, but it's not on my 'worry' list. People will always find new ways to be jerks to each other, and if someone needs to post an insulting/unflattering pic of myself or my kid, I think it says a lot more about the person posting than it does us.

I mean, who does that anyway? Losers, that's who!

Having the right to do something does not mean that doing it is right.

I would say that, yes, they have the right to do it. There is no rule or law against it. Social media means more people probably know it's done. But it isn't any different than 15 years ago taking a picture, developing the film and showing it to your friends.

Is it the wrong thing to do? Sometimes, definitely. Sometimes it's really harmless fun.

Not at all an easy question to answer.

This is illegal.
This is (IMO) dehumanizing.

My art prof once told us how a group of photographers went to a local CA homeless area and began photographing the homeless. Going as far as photographing inside their tents and belongings. It was humiliating to the homeless people. The photographers won some kind of award- but they dehumanized the people in the process and exploiting them.
Today, memes do the same thing. "People of Wal-Mart" or collections of genre images (i.e. worst moms, fattest kids, etc.) are very douchebag ways of bullying.

It is unnerving for someone to take photos of you/loved ones in public. And then post online for the world to see. And then put bullying captions below.

And let me take this one step further. I'm sure half of Mamapedia is already hating me- so what the heck. What if that person in your photo has a restraining order or is hiding from a dangerous ex. Not only have you just posted a up-to-date photo, but you most likely posted where and when the photo was taken.

Before you snap pictures or videotape other people (especially their kids- I'm talking to you playgroup mothers and grandmothers!) get permission.

I have no control over the actions of strangers. If I am in public and someone takes my picture without me knowing, there is literally nothing I can do about what they choose to do with it. Unless they identify me by name, they aren't disparaging ME, just the image I portrayed at that moment in time.

You have a reduced expectation of privacy in public, this applies to photos, video or anyone observing and talking about you in any way. This issue has been addressed time and time again in the courts, there is legal precedent for this.

That said, if you observe someone taking pictures of your minor children and you have not given them permission to do so, there is also legal precedent that shows you have the right, as their parent, to request the person immediately stop, and in most jurisdictions they have to do so.

This makes me think of the asinine site "funny Walmart people".

No one can deny the irresponsible use of the internet runs rampant, and can expose anyone to extreme vulnerability. We shouldn't live in oversized paranoia but we can be as cautious and careful as we can.

As a decent citizen, I don't think you have a right to post someone's picture just to make fun of them. But a lot of people have an "inner mean girl" inside, just itching to come out and can hide behind the protection of a flat screen that offers a level of anonymity (so they think), so they post what they want and say what they want.

I have told my kids, there are cameras everywhere! Watch what you do all the time.

I have taken pictures of my kids/family with "strangers" in the background. It is not in a snarky, way it is just they happen to be there when the picture is taken.

If you go in public with the thinking that people and cameras are everywhere. Watch what you do./or say.

No. I don't think that is acceptable. If someone is accidentally in the background of my picture (I am taking a pic of my kids in front of a landmark, or something) then sure. But not a picture OF someone else.

It is legally OK, sure.

But it's also rude and inconsiderate and a thousand other things that are even more vile, especially the very juvenile impulse to make comments about the appearances of total strangers.

I know I have no legal expectation of privacy outside my house.

But I wish I could still have a moral expectation of decent manners.

Unfortunately that expectation is now gone as well, since kids and (even more sadly) adults now believe that whatever snarky or ugly thought they have about someone else must be of interest to the rest of the world -- and they now have a way to put it all out there. I can choose not to look at it and that's all I can do about these crude people and their "news" feeds or "walls." I guess I'm antique enough to remember being told that "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all," especially in regard to others' appearances.

This idiocy is one reason we do not have Facebook or Instagram or Tumblr or...anything like that.

In Europe there is currently a legal movement to establish a "right to be forgotten" so that people can get their own images and other postings about them stripped off the Internet in certain circumstances. Great idea, to me, but it probably will never fly in the U.S. Too bad.

If you and your kids are in a public place then anyone can take pictures. it's not illegal.

If you are in your home then it would be an invasion of privacy.

I don't mind. Photos of me, my kids, etc. I don't see a problem with it.

Usually I find pictures of my kids in community magazines and it's always fun to see. Our community snaps tons of photos of events.

Eh, I don't care if people take pics of me when I'm in public. Or my daughter. If I'm willing to let strangers on the street see me as I am in public, then I don't see a huge difference of strangers on the internet seeing me like that either. (Same with my dd.)

My problem would be if they used my (or my DD's)picture and photoshopped it into something inappropriate. THAT would be crossing a major line.

As for turning it into a snarky meme or whatever... Well, I just ignore it. To takes a lot to ruffle my feathers, so I really don't mind. Its not something I can control or change, so there is no point in getting upset over it.

As for the snarky memes already floating around out there... Well, if you are going to go out in public like that, then you have to expect *some* social repercussions. (Ahem, people of Walmart...) Its not like these people don't KNOW they didn't put on any pants, or are unaware of the fact that their day-glow orange zebra-print body suit is going to draw attention. in this day and age, the internet has become a huge part of social interaction so it makes sense for things to show up there... It's just unfortunate that once it's uploaded, it's there forever. No living down that kind of memorialization.

Personally, I don't take pictures of strangers unless there is something I really want to share... Then I take care not to include (or blur out) the face... Like when I was on my college campus, and saw a 30-something male student sporting a My Little Pony backpack. *click* hey Facebook! A wild Brony appeared! :) lol. I DO make a point to not post rude or hurtful things though... I like to keep my page positive, and if someone saw their pic on my page it would more than likely get a giggle than make them upset. I see no point in publicly shaming/humiliating people.

It depends. I saw some idiot smoking at a gas pump and I tried to take a picture of him but my husband drove away before I could. Thank goodness, before we all blew up.
But, making fun of someone's appearance, usually, no, I dont think its right.
Most of the pictures I see on social media of people dressed inappropriate I think are gross and I really dont want to see them anyways.
I did have someone post a picture of a girl, eating by herself at a restaurant, with what the poster thought was "too much clevage". Seriously, get a life.
I guess I would be upset if I stranger did it, but how would I know?
I guess the worse they would get is me with no makeup and yoga pants. Again, that poster needs a life.

But theft? What are they stealing?

Given the near-obsession for privacy among so many people nowadays, I don't think I would do it, unless it happened to be by accident. I know some folks who are very concerned about protecting their identities, especially when it comes to their children.

If I were to post a photograph with a stranger in the background, well, I know a little about Photoshop and I can blur the face.

I don't know what can be done about the accidental, unintentional "shootings."

To photograph some stranger (or non-stranger) deliberately to make fun of how the person looks is nothing sort of juvenile and rude. If you shop at Walmart, folks, be careful how you look, because it seems everybody's a potential target there!

You have no guarantee of privacy in a public place.

It's not illegal to take photos and post them unless you make money off of the photos. Then a photo release must be signed. Otherwise, we are all fair game for this. It may not seem right, and we would hope that people would be respectful, but this is out of our control.

No. If someone on my newsfeed was doing this I would think less of them and block them.

Late to the game here but I do have something to add. I just saw a "meme"of a really bad picture of a girl with a really mean comment below. I thought it was really gross and tacky. She's someone's daughter, wife or mother and she was being degraded and made fun of in a very public and far reaching way.

Some of these are just really bad pictures with mean captions. The person isn't really doing anything wrong. The just got caught in a bad shot or are being a little quirky or silly.

To all you people who say if you're in public you're fair game, I wish for you a little bad timing and a jerk with a camera. I think it could happen to anyone, even Princess Diana took a bad shot now and then.

If you don't have the guts to walk up to someone and laugh in their face then you shouldn't be a chickensh!# and try to publicly shame them online.

I think if you're going to do that, you need to fully black out the person's face and any truly identifying features. I've seen this a few times, when people see someone in a funny/odd outfit or something like that.

It certainly isn't nice if you're doing it to mock someone, but there really isn't a way to prevent people from doing it. It is simply a fact of the world we live in.

Absolutely not of my child. I don't care if we are in public taking a picture of some one's child and posting it without their permission is wrong. I know that when I am in public there is nothing I can do about people taking my picture and posting it, but frankly I hate it. I know people who do it at all kinds of parties. They think if you and your kids came to their kids party they are entitled to post all of the pics. SMH and they do. I don't want my kid to be ostracized but I will sometimes ask them to not post my child - most understand. Some don't

I don't do it and I don't prefer it. I overlook it when we are at a public event (like the library) and my DD is one of many, but I have asked friends to not take her picture. I ask people if it is OK to take their kid's picture if there's no way around it, and if I take pictures of friends' kids, I email them vs posting them.

Secondarily, even if we don't get privacy in public, I think some bloggers and sites take it a step too far to post people in an identifiable way to harass them or make fun of them. Cyber harassment is real, and I don't think it is right to take a picture of someone to post it and make fun of them for it.

I have also attended festivals that were semi-private and asked photographers not to photograph my child because I know their collections will be online (to show off their work) and they did not ask my permission to use my child as a photography subject. It's a "public" gray area.

I think that our world has changed and everything is out there already. If this person is a stranger then how would you even know they'd posted a picture of you or your kids? It's very unlikely you'd ever know unless they were posting pictures of their own kids and you and your kids got into their picture.

Then if they posted them on say....facebook. If that person is from your town it might be possible you'd have friends in common and possibly have someone say they saw a picture of your kiddo.

But if it's not that but someone just sitting around a playground snapping off shots of you and your kid...I'd call the police when they weren't looking.