Social Media oversharing and children's rights

[Anonymous]

Very interesting article here on CNN about kids pushing for legislative protections for kids against their parents oversharing about their childhood lives on social media: https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/29/us/social-media-children-influencers-cec/index.html

Please read so we can have a discussion on this important issue.

No, it is not only about parents who are influencers or otherwise monetizing their kids' lives - just regular everyday parents who overshare on social media and how it impacts kids at the time and long term.

I have a couple of friends - but only a couple - who adhered to a pledge never to post photos or much if any information about their kids on social media.

Most of the people I know - very good, decent people - post a lot about their kids on Facebook, Insta, etc. It is interesting to consider that from the child's perspective.

[Anonymous]

I feel like there’s a spectrum from influencers/would-be influencers that almost everyone agrees is way over sharing to talking about your kids/sharing pics with the grandparents which almost everyone agrees is fine. The info and pictures are the same; it’s a question of the audience. I think having a private social media account where everyone who can see it is someone you would feel natural calling and talking about your kid to is fine and not a privacy violation, but I get less comfortable as the number of people seeing things goes up. I don’t post my kids on social media but I do send photos of them in my Christmas cards (maybe 30 cards a year) and I don’t consider that an invasion of their privacy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like there’s a spectrum from influencers/would-be influencers that almost everyone agrees is way over sharing to talking about your kids/sharing pics with the grandparents which almost everyone agrees is fine. The info and pictures are the same; it’s a question of the audience. I think having a private social media account where everyone who can see it is someone you would feel natural calling and talking about your kid to is fine and not a privacy violation, but I get less comfortable as the number of people seeing things goes up. I don’t post my kids on social media but I do send photos of them in my Christmas cards (maybe 30 cards a year) and I don’t consider that an invasion of their privacy.

One of the girls in the article has the date of her first period memorialized on FB by her mom. More than just lots of pictures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like there’s a spectrum from influencers/would-be influencers that almost everyone agrees is way over sharing to talking about your kids/sharing pics with the grandparents which almost everyone agrees is fine. The info and pictures are the same; it’s a question of the audience. I think having a private social media account where everyone who can see it is someone you would feel natural calling and talking about your kid to is fine and not a privacy violation, but I get less comfortable as the number of people seeing things goes up. I don’t post my kids on social media but I do send photos of them in my Christmas cards (maybe 30 cards a year) and I don’t consider that an invasion of their privacy.

One of the girls in the article has the date of her first period memorialized on FB by her mom. More than just lots of pictures.

Pictures on holidays and birthdays are one thing, disclosing sensitive information like that quite another.

[Anonymous]

I just saw Busy Phillips on some show where she talked all about her daughter, that she’s in boarding school, her medical issues, their relationship, etc. the kid is like 14 or 15! I couldn’t believe she would talk about this so publicly. We need to be more like Germany in regards to social media.

[Anonymous]

I think if you are having regular conversations with your children about social media, one of the main things you discuss is not posting photos or information without somebody else’s permission. So when you do that, you should probably also model that behavior. My kids are teens and young adults and I do not post them on Facebook or Instagram without their permission.

When the kids were younger I did sometimes post their photos, but again nothing embarrassing, like a milestones or grades or things about their friends because those things are on the internet forever.

[Anonymous]

Nearly everyone I know maintains reasonable boundaries. They only post non-private things, like birthdays, first day of school, Halloween, and vacation photos. They don't post embarrassing things. They also have their account locked down to friends and family.

A few folks do post more private things, like illness, surgeries or or sports injuries, but those are all folks who would probably over share in real life too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nearly everyone I know maintains reasonable boundaries. They only post non-private things, like birthdays, first day of school, Halloween, and vacation photos. They don't post embarrassing things. They also have their account locked down to friends and family.

A few folks do post more private things, like illness, surgeries or or sports injuries, but those are all folks who would probably over share in real life too.

The bolded is a great way to make sure your kid's future accounts can get more easily hacked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nearly everyone I know maintains reasonable boundaries. They only post non-private things, like birthdays, first day of school, Halloween, and vacation photos. They don't post embarrassing things. They also have their account locked down to friends and family.

A few folks do post more private things, like illness, surgeries or or sports injuries, but those are all folks who would probably over share in real life too.

The bolded is a great way to make sure your kid's future accounts can get more easily hacked.

I haven’t seen birthday used as a stand alone security question since the 90s. Everything is moving toward security codes sent to text or email if not even 2 factor app authentication.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nearly everyone I know maintains reasonable boundaries. They only post non-private things, like birthdays, first day of school, Halloween, and vacation photos. They don't post embarrassing things. They also have their account locked down to friends and family.

A few folks do post more private things, like illness, surgeries or or sports injuries, but those are all folks who would probably over share in real life too.

As my children have gotten older (oldest just turned five) I’ve posted less and less. I rarely posted to begin with but would post for birthdays and…now I don’t. I’ll post a family photo around the holidays and say “wishing everyone happy holidays” but that’s it. I also go on social media 5-6 times a year. It’s pretty toxic and lala land. I would rather spend my time in reality than in a fake reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very interesting article here on CNN about kids pushing for legislative protections for kids against their parents oversharing about their childhood lives on social media: https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/29/us/social-media-children-influencers-cec/index.html

Please read so we can have a discussion on this important issue.

No, it is not only about parents who are influencers or otherwise monetizing their kids' lives - just regular everyday parents who overshare on social media and how it impacts kids at the time and long term.

I have a couple of friends - but only a couple - who adhered to a pledge never to post photos or much if any information about their kids on social media.

Most of the people I know - very good, decent people - post a lot about their kids on Facebook, Insta, etc. It is interesting to consider that from the child's perspective.

I don't find this to be true. Most people I know post a few pictures a year of their kids with very little information shared except "First day of school" or "great game today". The vast majority of people are just sharing a few pictures.

The few people I know who are nuts about never posting a single photo online strike me as out of touch.

[Anonymous]

We don’t post any pictures of our kids on social media, nor do we share anything about them. I feel sorry for the kids whose parents post embarrassing photos and information and wonder what the kid will think when he or she is 14.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nearly everyone I know maintains reasonable boundaries. They only post non-private things, like birthdays, first day of school, Halloween, and vacation photos. They don't post embarrassing things. They also have their account locked down to friends and family.

A few folks do post more private things, like illness, surgeries or or sports injuries, but those are all folks who would probably over share in real life too.

The bolded is a great way to make sure your kid's future accounts can get more easily hacked.

Oh please. So is cake in the breakroom at your office on your birthday. Anyone who keeps their birthday secret seems super paranoid.

[Anonymous]

I don’t believe my private FB setting is private given the remoteness of some friend requests that I receive. I don’t post photos of my DD, nor birthdays, nor vacation pics WHILE on vacation. I brag only to family about DD. Call me crazy, but that’s me.

[Anonymous]

I have always thought so called family influencers were trash and after having a child I know for sure they are. I don’t understand why people would post these personal things about their kids on social media.