90%的美国两周岁儿童留下网络足迹

It's increasingly common for children to have an online footprint before they're born, and most kids in many developed countries have some sort of digital* profile by their second birthday, according to a new study by AVG, an Internet security firm.

AVG surveyed mothers in the United States and Canada, the EU5 (United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain), Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. It found that nearly a quarter of children in these nations start their digital lives before their actual birth dates--when their parents upload their prenatal* sonogram* scans to the Internet.

In the States, 92 percent of children have a digital presence by age 2, compared to 73 percent in the EU5, the study shows.

Parents, think before you post, warns AVG CEO JR Smith, who gave these insights:

"First, you are creating a digital history for a human being that will follow him or her for the rest of their life. What kind of footprint do you actually want to start for your child, and what will they think about the information you've uploaded in future?

"Secondly, it reinforces the need for parents to be aware of the privacy* settings they have set on their social network and other profiles. Otherwise, sharing a baby's picture and specific information may not only be shared with friends and family but with the whole online world."

And, come on, who really looks good in a sonogram?

digital 数字的

prenatal 出生前的

sonogram 超声波图像

privacy 隐私