Social media today has become a norm society all over the world cannot afford to ignore. We post messages, communicate with friends/family, and chronicle events in our life – usually with our little ones. This process is commonly referred to as ‘sharenting,’ and while occasional it may be entertaining for parents to capture a moment and share it with others online. But before typing away and hitting the ‘post’ button these are some daunting ethical concerns every parent should reflect upon.
The Allure and Allure of Sharenting
According to CG's blog post, with the links provided, Sharing pictures and videos of your child’s daily milestones, achievement, and cute behaviours, among other things can be very enticing. Social networks as a pathway to get acquainted with distant relatives, report to the friends who do not live near to for a long time, documenting a child’s development. Research evidence shows that positive sharenting, that is posting what nobody wants to hide from their friends, does help to forge family ties.
Nevertheless, it means that sharenting has its dark side as well.
Privacy Concerns: Young children have a relatively limited concept of the longevity and accessibility of the material they share over the internet. Posting pictures and videos with them, without their permission, is a violation of their future right to privacy.
Security Risks: Neither is it the first time that social media are changing, and privacy options are not always very clear. Prominent examples are when people accidentally share such details as the location of your child or the name of the school they attend, you end up compromising their safety.
Cyberbullying: The internet, on the other hand, is unfortunately a pool full of negativity. Such pretty pictures that were supposed to warm the hearts of friends and family might be used by classmates or even strangers to bully.
Unrealistic Expectations: Social media updates look like people’s best moments – the so-called ‘Best of…’ reel. Excessive sharing might put in front of the child unrealistic expectations and force him or her to perform for the needs of others.
Digital Footprint: Each picture, video and each comment you post constantly construct a digital footprint for your child. Since such information becomes part of the.Users’ profile, it could in some way affect their future educational or professional endeavors.
The Power of Informed Consent: A major principle in ethical sharenting is consent. In order not to impose on your child’s privacy, learn what he or she wants posted on such social networks. This helps to engage them into discourse and make them learn some lessons about their privacy online.
Finding the Balance:
There are no protocols for sharing child images and videos; everyone is on their own when it comes to sharenting. It’s, of course, crucial to achieve this so that parents enjoy the bond they have with their child as well as ensuring that security and privacy are maintained. Here are some tips to help you navigate this terrain:
● Think twice before you post: What would your child want you not to share, would your child be okay if you shared this? If the answer is not definite then be extra cautious.
- Focus on the present: Instead of posting embarrassing moments share images and clippings that depict current achievements.
- Location, location, location: Do not reveal more information that may help people identify your child’s location or school, landmarks include.
- Privacy settings matter: Know the privacy levels on the social networks you belong to and control them already.
- Respect their boundaries: While your child is still young, gradually make them responsible for what is posted online by taking them through the process.
Beyond Sharenting:
Beyond navigating sharenting, there are additional ways to protect your child's digital well-being:
- Open conversations: Discuss the dos and don’ts of the social networks, offend incidents, and how to be a good netizen.
- Lead by example: Make sure that what you and everybody else posts about online is appropriate and does not offend others.
- Digital literacy: Create positive user experience by ensuring that the child develops the right attitude to deal with content found on the internet.
The online society may be healthy and useful, so sharenting too may be a healthy way to go sometimes. But you have asked how to ethically share items so your child can be proud of it? So what do you do when you want to share or post items on the internet while keeping your child’s privacy /safety in mind?
