As a parent, you want to share moments of joy with your friends and family when it comes to your children. Posting pictures of their adorable smile or remembering important milestones in their life is an exciting and rewarding experience.
However, before hitting that share button on social media, you need to understand the potential risks of exposing too much information online about your kids. In fact, posting about your children on social media has the potential to damage their futures.
In this blog post, we’ll look at what parents should know before posting about their children on social media so that they can make informed decisions when sharing those special memories.
A Look at the Statistics
A 2018 study from the UK Children’s Commissioner reported that there are multiple ways that parents can violate their children’s privacy in ways that can impact their future.
The report estimates that by the age of 13, parents have posted roughly 1300 photos and videos of their children online, a phenomenon that has come to be known as “sharenting”.
“According to the UK report, Barclays has forecast that by 2030 “sharenting” will account for 2/3 of identity fraud, costing hundreds of millions of dollars a year. With just a name, date of birth, and address (easy enough to find in a geotagged birthday party photo on Facebook, for example), bad actors can store this information until a person turns 18 and then begin opening accounts.”
Importance of Children’s Rights to Privacy
With the advent of the internet and digital devices, children’s right to privacy is more important than ever. While sharing photos brings with it the benefit of connecting with family and friends around the world, it is important for parents to understand the dangers posed by posting these images.
In addition to potentially exposing private details about their children, like where they go to school or who lives near them, there is also a risk that these images could be used unethically by third-party sources. With this in mind, it is important for parents to pay attention to their social media postings and think twice before posting pictures of their children online.
Dangers of Posting About Your Family Online
Posting about your children online can have serious life-long impacts. Not only can it endanger the safety and security of children, it can also put their digital footprint at risk. Posts that contain personally identifiable information such as their name, birthdate, or home address can remain public for years and make kids vulnerable to predators targeting them.
Public posts about children’s daily routines, habits, or whereabouts could even lead to abduction. In addition, posting images of children that contain school logos or other identifying factors such as uniforms can violate privacy agreements and lead to disciplinary action against students and/or parents.
Therefore, it is essential to be mindful of how we portray our children online by using proper privacy settings and considering whether a post really needs to be made before hitting the “publish” button.
How Social Media Can Damage Your Children’s Future
Posting photos or information about your children on social media can have a serious impact on their future. When you post online, you are effectively making your child’s private life public, leaving them vulnerable to cyberbullying and harassment.
Additionally, those pictures and status updates will become part of their digital legacy, so you must be especially mindful of the kind of content you choose to share about them. Keep in mind that what is posted today can easily stay up for years – even beyond when they turn 18 – potentially influencing college admissions officers, job recruiters, and other important people in their lives later on.
To protect your children’s future, consider setting boundaries on social media when it comes to posting about them.
Modeling Boundaries With Social Media
Establishing healthy boundaries for social media for children is a must in today’s increasingly tech-savvy world. It can help promote safety, curb the spread of potentially damaging negative behaviors and encourage responsible online behavior.
When it comes to establishing these guidelines with our children, it is important to discuss both what acceptable social media use looks like and the potential repercussions of overusing or misusing the platforms.
Start by defining appropriate limits, explain why certain actions are prohibited, and show examples of how your child can use social media in a positive way.
Above all, ensure that you are setting a good example yourself when it comes to using social media responsibly as this will lead to your child understanding and respecting the boundaries you have set.
Conclusion
Posting pictures of your children online can be a beneficial way to share memories, stay in contact with far away family members, or to simply show off how much your kids are growing and succeeding.
However, there is also the potential for cyberbullying or even child predators finding out too much information about them. It’s important that before you post anything, no matter how innocent it may seem at first glance, you think carefully through the consequences.
If a picture could compromise the safety of any of your children in any way, it would be best not to post at all. Additionally, always double-check that your account settings are private and secure to ensure that only approved users have access to any sensitive information on your page.
Remember: when in doubt, err on the side of caution when it comes to posting updates about your precious children online.