Sharenting: Is it Safe to Share My Child’s Photos on Social Media?
In the age of social media, many parents are concerned about what their children are posting on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and other social platforms. But are parents as conscious about what they are posting?
It’s common to be eager to share your child’s photos, memories, and milestones with your closest family and friends. Although it’s done with good intentions, it’s important to understand that oversharing on social media, or “sharenting”, can come with some risks.
What is Sharenting?
A twist on the words “sharing” and “parenting”, sharenting is a new term used to describe parents’ social media habits and how they post about their children online. It is often referred to as “oversharenting” when parents excessively share personal details about their children through frequent social media posts.
The Dangers of Sharenting
While sharenting is not inherently a bad thing, it can come with risks. Sharing your child’s photos online prevents you from having full control over who sees or uses the photos. It opens up the risk of being seen by strangers or other unwanted individuals who now have the ability to save the shared photos and know personal details about your child’s life.
Sharenting also creates a digital footprint for your child, leaving a permanent trail of information that future employers or other individuals can have access to. Remember that once you post a photo online, you cannot take it back, so make sure your photos are not nor could ever be harmful or embarrassing for your child.
As long as you follow safe social media posting habits, you can safely share photos of your child online for your friends and family to admire.
How to Safely Share Photos of Your Child on Social Media
Here are some helpful tips to consider the next time you decide to post about your child on social media.
- Avoid sharing personal information about your child online. This includes their full name, birthday, school, teacher, home address, and other information that easily identifies your child.
- Be aware of privacy settings across social media platforms. Are your posts set to public or private? Know that even if your posts are set to private, it doesn’t guarantee they can’t be seen by others. Once you put something online, it will remain in cyberspace forever.
- Know your audience. Be mindful of everyone who follows you. Are you comfortable with each of your Facebook friends seeing your posts? Is there anyone you don’t want to see your posts? If you answered “no” to either of those questions, you should refrain from posting.
- Get consent from your child. If your child is old enough to understand what social media is, be sure to ask them if they are okay with what you are sharing about them before you post. If your child is too young to give consent, ask yourself, “Would I want someone to share this about me?”. Also, think about if the photo could be potentially embarrassing or harmful for your child in the future. If you think sharing a certain photo could ever upset your child, it’s best to keep it off social media.
- Only post about your own children. Many parents have different views about social media. Just because you are comfortable sharing a photo of your child, doesn’t mean another parent is. Make sure you are not posting any details about other children unless you ask for parental permission first.
- Don’t overshare. Remember you don’t have to post everything for everyone to see. Sometimes less is more!
- Think before you post. And then think one more time! Before you click post, are you confident that you are following all the safe social media posting habits mentioned above? As long as you are mindful of the things you are sharing and understand the potential risks of sharenting, you can safely share those special photos, memories, and milestones with your closest family and friends.
Now that you understand sharenting and the dangers of oversharing on social media as a parent, you can begin navigating talking to your child about social media. Here are 6 safe ways to navigate social media with your child.
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