Why you shouldn’t post your baby’s every pic on social media
SURE your baby is as cute as a button, and certainly you want to share pictures and videos of the baby pulling amazing little tricks at every stage of the growth process. And thanks to modern inventions, you no longer have to go through the trouble of individually sharing photos with family and friends. Social media sites, love them or loathe them, create the perfect avenue for you to share these moments almost effortlessly.
But Dr Patrece Charles-Freeman, executive director of the National Parenting Support Commission, said that this new convenience could be more trouble than it is worth.
“Posting pictures of children has become very common, especially for new parents. But sometimes these photos, unprotected by the correct privacy settings, run the risk of parents potentially putting themselves and their children at risk from predators,” she said.
She pointed out that when photos or videos are accompanied by captions with the child’s personal information, parents are subconsciously creating an online profile for predators to feast on information that, at first glance, could be viewed as harmless.
“You have to be mindful of the access that people other than your friends, including friends of friends or random strangers and predators, have to social media sites and could have to your page and information posted. Think about important facts that you include in your captions or the details of the videos, or what your locator says, because people could look at a pattern and learn about your child to use at their advantage,” she explained.
Dr Freeman said that children are vulnerable and are seen as easy targets because they are trusting and are likely to accept invitations, even from strangers once they know their names. These strangers could possible know information, such as their favourite foods, or bribe them with other things that they know they like, because of information you have shared about them online.
She explained that similar caution should be taken when dealing with older children, including teenagers.
“Children are smart, but they are also very vulnerable. They may be able to speak for themselves, but that does not mean they thoroughly understand when someone means them harm,” Dr Freeman said.
She advised parents against allowing their children to join social media sites. However, in cases where it is allowed, she said parents must disable features like locators, educate their children on what behaviour is appropriate, and to generally monitor the content that they share online and the people they communicate with.
