Have you ever heard of digital footprint? Have you ever wondered how children feel when they realise that not only what they have posted is online but also what their parents have shared about them since their birth? Did you know that the more posts online about a child, the greater the risk of that child being shamed or bullied (later)? Learn about the potential dangers of posting.
“Are we removing children from the photos? That is really too much! Anyone can take a photo of a child on the street, why is that different? ” “My child is the meaning of my life, why shouldn’t I post about her/him? What harm can it do if I just share nice pictures of her/him? I am very careful not to post embarrassing pictures, so that shouldn’t be a problem.” “Are you out of your minds to delete children from the internet? Everybody posts about their children, do you think they all mean harm?” Do these phrases sound familiar?
You may have read many articles about why it can be dangerous for children if their parents or other adults share too many pictures and information about them online. We may find that this is a divisive topic, so it is important to talk about it even more. Kindergarten girls in leotards, little boys at the beach, pictures of children sleeping/wearing pyjamas, swimsuits/having a bath… If someone else asked us for such photos of our children, it would be outrageous, but often we share them willingly. Strange, right?
We have put together the top 10 reasons why it is important for parents to think carefully before posting about their children:
When it comes to the online safety of children, one of the key concepts is digital footprint. In the video below, we show you what this means exactly:
If you have been posting about your child regularly so far, you can easily feel it is hard to change your habits. It can help to think about the following each time you share something about your child online:
Keeping children safe online is the responsibility of their parents. Little is known about digital parenting, but just like parenting, online parenting can be learned.
This is the translation of this Hungarian article on Yelon.hu.
