Let's talk sharenting!
What is sharenting? It is the practice of sharing news, images, or videos of one's children on social media, especially in a way regarded as excessive. It can look like posting photos of your child, sharing their daily routine, or using them as content (fyi: children are not content!).
This is a recent new term defined as the practice of sharing information of your child in an excessive manner. It has become incredibly easy to want to share, share, share and not think about its impact. But it doesn't mean it's too late to start retracting this bad habit.
“You really do need to stop and think and realize that if you are sharing … anything that can be used to identify them, you really are doing the equivalent of taking out an ad on a billboard by a highway.” - Leah Plunkett, author of Sharenthood: Why We Should Think Before We Talk about Our Kids Online (CBC.ca).
When sharing family memories online, keep these things in mind and ask yourself these questions:
- Sharing vulnerable and embarrassing moments should stay private. Would they be happy seeing this when they're older?
- Children are unable to provide consent. They're their own person too and everything you do now does in fact affect them later in life.
- Bits and pieces of information can all add up into a whole image. Birthdays, full names, school, location tagging, and medical info can all reveal your child's identity.
It's not about demonizing parents but to educate of its risks and potential harms. It doesn't even have to be about other people but how this can impact your child in the future (not building trust, having respect and boundaries).
If you still want to share your child's little and big moments, then Clann is a great option to use. Instead of doing so with the public, it's just you and your family and trusted ones!
Share with your family, not the internet
