Have you ever noticed on your social media accounts, like Facebook or Instagram, there are some people who post picture after picture and video after video of their kids?
Maybe they do it to keep extended family in the loop of every little triumph the child reaches. Maybe its a parent who needs extra validation through “likes” and they end up over sharing their children.
“Oversharenting” is the new term to describe such parents. It isn’t easy to say, but its meaning is pretty clear: parents over sharing daily activities and photos of their children.
Odds are pretty good – especially if you have lots of friends and followers – that we all have those “friends.” And maybe, just maybe, we are guilty of doing it ourselves.
What’s the harm of oversharenting? Babies and toddlers are so cute!
There are risks to “oversharenting” your kids, and these risks can be quite serious.
- Each share adds to the digital footprint for your child. Ultimately, parents are creating that digital footprint way too early – before the child has any control over what they want shared.
- People steal images all of the time. There is no guarantee your “friends” won’t share or save an image you’ve posted – even if you have set strict privacy settings.
- Social media companies have rights to your photos and videos. In the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities Facebook says-
For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.
Pedophile websites, advertisers, and blogs have been known to steal uploaded images from all forms of social media as well.
Prevent Oversharenting
Sharing information has never been faster, especially with social media. While the convenience of posting everything about our children is a handy way to keep grandparents connected, there are always those individuals who will abuse the latest upload.
Once we start posting images and texts about our kids, we have created a digital footprint for them – without their consent. Once it is posted it cannot be undone. It is online permanently. There are no “re-do’s” or “take it back” opportunities after a post goes live.
If you find yourself sharing too much information about your kids, there are a few simple tips to help curb the habit.
~ Send the photo in an email. If you want to share a photo with a loved one, don’t post it for EVERYONE to see. Make it more personal by adding a note.
~ Be careful sharing your child’s name. If you’re posting online, give them a nickname or an initial. It is nearly impossible to scrub old blog posts and it is too late to take down photos shared on Facebook, Instagram, and others.
~ Set a limit for yourself. If you want or need to post about your children, only do it once a week, twice a month, etc. Then stick to the plan. If you get the urge to share something try #1.
Be cautious and very selective when posting. Remember its just not a picture, it is your child.
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The post Oversharenting – What is the risk for our kids? appeared first on Blog (Retiring).