When my eldest was born I posted the following note on my Facebook wall:
Today, I met you. My words cannot adequately express the hope and happiness you bring to your mother and I. After months of anticipation we are delighted that you are here and healthy, safe and sound.
Like all parents we want to protect you and nourish your individuality. Today I'm making a promise: your identity is yours alone to express.
In this digital era, we share more, more often. But that decision to share is not one we will make for you, we won't create an online presence for you. Only you can decide how you want to be seen by the world.
I later realised that I had posed this on the day they were born, revealing their legal date of birth. I screen-shotted the original, deleted it and then reposted it, adding the following quote:
I don’t share photos of my son online because he hasn’t consented to that sharing, and doesn’t understand what posting photos online means.
I have seen friends post photos of their children on Facebook/Instagram while potty training and in the bath. Who knows how much those kids are going to get bullied in middle / high school when a classmate finds those photos, makes a meme out of them or prints them out and posts them around the school. All because their parents were chasing a dopamine high from a few likes.
It's great to see kids like Gwyneth Paltrows' pushing back[0] against their parents oversharing very publicly, creating a great example for other kids, empowering them to stand up to their parents oversharing.
When my eldest was born I posted the following note on my Facebook wall:
Today, I met you. My words cannot adequately express the hope and happiness you bring to your mother and I. After months of anticipation we are delighted that you are here and healthy, safe and sound.
Like all parents we want to protect you and nourish your individuality. Today I'm making a promise: your identity is yours alone to express.
In this digital era, we share more, more often. But that decision to share is not one we will make for you, we won't create an online presence for you. Only you can decide how you want to be seen by the world.
I later realised that I had posed this on the day they were born, revealing their legal date of birth. I screen-shotted the original, deleted it and then reposted it, adding the following quote:
I don’t share photos of my son online because he hasn’t consented to that sharing, and doesn’t understand what posting photos online means.
I have seen friends post photos of their children on Facebook/Instagram while potty training and in the bath. Who knows how much those kids are going to get bullied in middle / high school when a classmate finds those photos, makes a meme out of them or prints them out and posts them around the school. All because their parents were chasing a dopamine high from a few likes.
It's great to see kids like Gwyneth Paltrows' pushing back[0] against their parents oversharing very publicly, creating a great example for other kids, empowering them to stand up to their parents oversharing.
[0] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-47722427