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The only parallel this would have is the faces on the milk carton, because other celebrities are so instantly recognizable due to us seeing their faces on a 30-ft tall movie screen on a regular basis, or in close-up in our homes every week on TV, and in regular HD photoshoots for magazines, etc. The details of their faces are completely ingrained in our brains from that kind of exposure. Superman will be seen in photos, sure, but nothing even approaching that level of familiarity, imo.I would hope that Superman avoids photoshoots and such in this reimagining of the mythos. However, in several previous incarnations, the character actually has partaken in these type of activities, so it's difficult to say what might happen now. Another thing is that we live in an increasingly more invasive society: mobile phone photography, for example, is the norm these days. Phones are being hacked into and calls are being monitored. Red-light cameras are all over the place. There's really no such thing as privacy any more.
You say that someone would be hard-pressed to identify Superman unless he/she saw him in person? I disagree. Superman's not Batman. He doesn't operate in the shadows. He doesn't wear a mask, which is one of the reasons comic purists cry foul if an actor portraying him isn't made up to match the character's notable phenotypic traits to a tee. And why is Superman against wearing a mask in the first place? Because he truly wants people to see his face. And in terms of identifying someone, that's really all you need. When a child is missing or a wanted criminal is on the loose, what is it that we see on milk cartons and wanted ads? The head of the person in question. Do we already know these people in advance? No. Can we still identify them based on a single head shot? Sure. What have old school anthropologists like Carleton S. Coon commonly focused on in distinguishing various racial types from each other? Cranial morphology. That's where it all starts.
Moreover, we live in a society where people are obsessed with ANYONE in the public eye. Consider the rise of popularity in reality-based shows. Can you imagine what people would do if they became aware of the existence of a guy like Superman?? They would be all over him. There would be a conscious effort to scrutinize every little thing he does. The world would likely be changed forever.
Now, lets say someone recognizes him in the supermarket and takes his picture; then tries to sell that picture to some popular trash mag. People are going to start talking. And Superman's not going to want that kind of scrutiny in his life. His secret identity would be immediately compromised. That's why I think it would be a nice thing to see some real thought put into the Clark Kent civilian disguise -- something subtle, but effective. In addition, it would make sense for Kent to be a lot more low-key than he's portrayed in previous incarnations.
As for the milk cartons, the difference is that if you see someone who looks like one of those kids, you report it, police/FBI/etc. are going to launch an investigation to determine if that's them. People aren't "hunting" for Superman in hiding - he's always around as Superman, and it seems like, by the end of this movie, officials will consider him a "friendly" - so at most, you can report it to the tabloids and hope they care. But honestly, there would be SO MANY of those stories in the trash mags of guys who look like Superman in a grocery store, the laundromat, etc, that Clark would just be one of a thousand reports just like that, and it wouldn't gain any traction with any legitimate outlets.
Now, in real-life, yes, he probably would get outed at some point. But in a movie that features an alien flying around in a uniform that looks conveniently like superhero garb and an invading alien race that just happen to be native English-speakers, not to mention a host of other outlandish elements, his ability to keep the secret is FAR from the most implausible aspect the storytellers are asking us to suspend our disbelief for, imo.