My face belongs to me?

@redurnet (1798)
United Kingdom
February 6, 2019 6:01am CST
We live in a world where everyone seems to have a smartphone. People love to use their cameras to take pictures and videos so they can retain the memory of the occasion or perhaps post pictures to social media to show off the happiness in their lives. I enjoy doing this myself. However, I'm quick to put my device away after a short period so I can experience real things and not through a screen. What worries me about smartphone use is that I've occasionally had my picture taken when I didn't authorize it. The first time it was a childhood friend with whom I once had an innocent teen romance. I didn't dare confront him about why he snapped me. He stayed pals with our childhood gang and I didn't so perhaps he wanted to show them what I looked like twenty years later. Or maybe he simply wanted the picture for personal use. Either way, he should have asked me. Another time a total stranger took a picture of me after staring at me for a long time. He was being very strange and was wearing a hooded top and lingering around me. I didn't feel at all comfortable and left the area quickly. Another time a drunk man in a bus stop took my picture as his friend laughed and told me that he enjoyed having a "personal collection" of photos of women. I suppose it might have happened more often without me even realising it. It's probably inevitable that we are going to be on someone's Instagram post in the background by accident but it's a different matter when people are taking your picture on purpose without your consent. My face belongs to me, doesn't it?
15 people like this
13 responses
@acelawrites (19272)
• Philippines
7 Feb 19
Some people who took your photos without your concern are so unethical! If you had the chance you should had asked them why, or you should really walk away from them; they might have bad intents. That's the danger of the smartphones; one can not always be safe. Maybe you are so beautiful that's why they had that interest in you.
2 people like this
@acelawrites (19272)
• Philippines
8 Feb 19
@redurnet it could be.
2 people like this
@redurnet (1798)
• United Kingdom
8 Feb 19
Well I am not beautiful but I suppose people are interested in people for different reasons.
2 people like this
@SIMPLYD (90722)
• Philippines
7 Feb 19
I suppose, you have a pretty face that is why some men would always steal a photo of you. But yes, permission should be asked if one has to take a picture of you. It's unethical to snap a picture of a person without asking permission from that person.
2 people like this
@SIMPLYD (90722)
• Philippines
8 Feb 19
@redurnet Maybe because you have a red hair as your username is.
1 person likes this
@redurnet (1798)
• United Kingdom
8 Feb 19
I am normal looking. Maybe some men want a closer look, lol. It's strange.
1 person likes this
@sofssu (23662)
8 Feb 19
That sounds creepy. I would hate someone taking my pictures without my permission too. In fact I hate being tagged by my friends on FB I never post any personal pictures online.
1 person likes this
@redurnet (1798)
• United Kingdom
8 Feb 19
It does feel creepy. I think Facebook and tags are a bit intrusive too.
1 person likes this
@sofssu (23662)
8 Feb 19
@redurnet They are for people who love their privacy.
1 person likes this
@DianneN (247186)
• United States
6 Feb 19
It is very creepy to be photographed in ways you mentioned. It seems the world of privacy is out of control and just not right. I find it very unethical.
1 person likes this
@DianneN (247186)
• United States
6 Feb 19
@redurnet Exactly! I'm not sure if my face is out there without my permission. At least I have my clothes on.
1 person likes this
@redurnet (1798)
• United Kingdom
6 Feb 19
It does seem to have just escalated in a huge way now that we all have social media accounts and cameras on our phones.
1 person likes this
@Merliva (3535)
• San Marino
7 Feb 19
Well people do this to me all the time and it's not a good thing...i sometimes hate it
1 person likes this
@redurnet (1798)
• United Kingdom
8 Feb 19
It's okay if it is a friend or family member doing it but when it is a stranger it's odd.
1 person likes this
@Merliva (3535)
• San Marino
8 Feb 19
@redurnet exactly
1 person likes this
8 Feb 19
Yes I feel you. The worst thing that can happen is if they make a social media account with your face on it and pretend to be you asking money to all your friends saying that there is an accident and else is history. It happens very often in the world of internet.
1 person likes this
@redurnet (1798)
• United Kingdom
9 Feb 19
That is a terrible thing to happen to anyone.
1 person likes this
9 Feb 19
@redurnet yes it is. It happens a lot though
@snowy22315 (180472)
• United States
26 Feb 19
Oh how very odd. I would not like that at all!
1 person likes this
@redurnet (1798)
• United Kingdom
1 Mar 19
It is odd, a strange sign of the times.
1 person likes this
• Valdosta, Georgia
6 Feb 19
I'm sorry your picture has been taken like that without permission. I'm sure I'm in the background of some but I have never had my photo taken (that I know of anyway) without my consent.
1 person likes this
@redurnet (1798)
• United Kingdom
6 Feb 19
Thank you. I find it a bit creepy and odd that anyone would want take a sly picture. I wonder how many times all of us have been in the background of someone's social media post without knowing it. That's a strange thought.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471355)
• Switzerland
6 Feb 19
Absolutely and it is a serious privacy violation to post a photo of your face without asking your permission.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471355)
• Switzerland
7 Feb 19
@redurnet Those people should be punished. Should I see my photo used by another I would inform our local police and made a formal complain for privacy violation.
1 person likes this
@redurnet (1798)
• United Kingdom
6 Feb 19
I hate seeing those posts where people have taken pictures or videos of people to make fun of them or turn them into a meme.
1 person likes this
@sol_cee (38219)
• Philippines
6 Feb 19
That’s strange. In Japan, mobile phones have shutter sound to alert people that someone is taking photos.
1 person likes this
@redurnet (1798)
• United Kingdom
8 Feb 19
I think that sound can't be muted on Iphones but can be muted on other models. It's a good idea for privacy.
@Missmwngi (12915)
• Nairobi, Kenya
22 Feb 19
I don't like it when strangers take my photos without my permission. Its not cool at all.
1 person likes this
@redurnet (1798)
• United Kingdom
1 Mar 19
No, it's weird, isn't it.
@just4him (317040)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
8 Feb 19
If people are going to deliberately take your picture, they should get your permission.
1 person likes this
@redurnet (1798)
• United Kingdom
9 Feb 19
Absolutely, they should ask or not do it at all.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (339591)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Feb 19
Did you know this has posted twice? I don't like the thought of being photographed without knowing it's happening - or even knowing it's happening - but I don't know what you can do about it really.
1 person likes this
@redurnet (1798)
• United Kingdom
6 Feb 19
Thanks for telling me. I tried to put a picture in the first one and it sent me to a 'runtime error' page so I didn't think it had posted. You are right, there doesn't seem to be anything one can do about people taking pictures of you.
1 person likes this