As much as children have grown older and use gadgets to share information, it is almost impossible not to post adorable pictures and videos of our kids. It also starts from babies when they take their first step, their first day in school, first birthdays, and nearly every event seems to be a perfect occasion to take pictures and share on social media. This is sometimes referred to as “sharenting,” but, inasmuch as it is often an unpleasant practice, it can be a wonderful way of making contact and sharing wonderful moments with friends and relatives. But before you make your first post, you should turn your focus on possible negative outcomes of this decision.
The Delicate Dance of Privacy and Sharing
The primary objection concerning sharenting is that it invades the right to privacy of a child. Parents do not dictate what is posted on the Internet, and a child’s profile begins to build up even as they are unaware of the consequences online. According to CG’s blog post, the following can be done with the information: The predators may use it to open fake accounts or target children more so because the photos which are posted may reveal their tender age. Therefore, information taken from social networks by data brokers can be later used to work the credit reference, insurance, or even advertising one’s product.
Challenges and Considerations
Apart from jeopardizing the privacy of children, sharenting offers the following difficulties for parents and children. It resolves into a situation of entitlement or to a wrong estimation of worth grounded on social media approval. Having to gain as many likes and comments as they can, children can become anxious or end up not being real to themselves. Furthermore, when recording moments chronically, people set themselves a bar so high that they cannot meet it, and it also interferes with having fun.
Safety First: Strategies for Responsible Sharenting
So how can you navigate the world of sharenting responsibly? Here are some key strategies:
- Get Consent (Age-Appropriate): The third method is the one that can be employed as your child grows to ensure that they make decisions on what should be posted online. For younger children, it might be as simple as asking whether they want a photo to be published to the website. When children grow older, talk with them about the advantages and disadvantages of sharenting, as well as agree upon some rules.
- Think Before You Post: Consider the content itself. If any detail about the place your child is going, school, or any other activity can be traced. Is the image likely to be humiliating or may it be misunderstood as embarrassing at a particular time in the future?
- Privacy Settings Matter: Check how your private information is viewed by others in the social networks. Choose who can comment on your post, do not add details about your life in the description part and avoid personal details in comments.
- Focus on Moments, Not Milestones: Though it can be fun to capture specific events, do not let these events deter you but instead ensure you capture real moments even if they are not perfect for a photo. Focus on the positive emotion which is happiness and being happy while with your child at that specific time.
- Set Boundaries with Others: This is arguing it to those who post your child’s pictures on social platforms by politely telling them not to do it again. Thanks for the enthusiasm but let them know you have privacy issues that you have to address.
- Talk to Your Children About Online Safety: As your kids grow older you should engage them in a dialogue about the probable dangers of the online environment. Make sure they know what they are sharing and then tell them you are here to listen to them.
Sharenting with a Positive Spin
As disadvantageous as sharenting maybe, when employed positively then it becomes a means of boosting communication. Here are some ways to use it responsibly:
- Share selectively: Try to remember that the main goal is to show people what kind of personality your child has and what he or she likes rather than what your child looks like.
- Add your family and close friends in your privacy settings to make it a closed network. This enables you to share pictures and other videos with friends and extended family members without violating your child’s privacy in the more open social sharing sites.
- Captioning memories and moments over the scenes, the selfies culture. Taking pictures of family fun or working on a project can help you record incidents without placing much pressure on your child.
If such guidelines are followed along with the maintaining of the healthy balance then Sharenting can add positive value to the digital experience of a child rather than putting the child at risk. You must always be cautious since the world of the Internet is ever growing with the child and technology.
