THE ACT OF 'SHARENTING' AND ITS SIDE EFFECTS

When you put an overzealous parent and social media together, you may end up with a case of 'sharenting.' Yep, you heard that right: sharenting. But what is that exactly? Basically, this is when a parent creates an online identity for their child by posting them on social media, even if they post an ultrasound picture before the child is born. You might be guilty of the act of 'sharenting' without even knowing it...or your child knowing it. Let's find out.

While social media may be a great tool for parents to use to show the pride they have for their children, it may be unwanted exposure for the kids down the road as they grow older. Although they are just 'kids,' they may still have a reasonable opinion over whether they want their lives to be private or kept 'offline' once they become aware of it.

In my opinion, I think there is reason and understanding on both sides when it comes down to 'sharenting.' Ultimately, I think it is important to consider HOW MUCH you are posting your child on social media as a parent. With social media, especially platforms like Facebook and Instagram, people, such as parents, are able to share big events and other happenings going on in their lives. Honestly, that is a lot of what takes up my content on such social media platforms. However, I think it becomes a problem for a lot of kids when they feel like they can not do one thing without their parent posting it on social media. Yes, social media is a way for you to let everyone know what is happening in your life, but it is possible to post TOO much with it crossing some boundaries.

For a lot of parents, social media is an outlet for them to use when a big milestone occurs in their child's life. 'Oh, my kid just started walking?' 'Let me post a video of that on Facebook!' 'Oh, my kid just went potty for the first time?' 'Let me post a picture of that on Instagram!' While walking may be fine, seeing yourself 'go potty' on social media may be why some kids have a problem with their parents' social media activity and what all they might be posting. This is why I see reason on both sides of this equation.

According to an article from The Atlantic, titled, "When Kids Realize Their Whole Life Is Already Online: Googling yourself has become a rite of passage," it talks about a 'mommy blogger' whose daughter discovered several personal stories about herself on her mom's blog site that led up to her age as a 14-year-old. The article goes on to say that the daughter was horrified of some of the stories that were posted but her mother did not feel like she could stop blogging since it was such a huge part of her life and that it 'would mean shutting down a vital part of myself, which isn't necessarily good for me or her," the mommy blogger said.

This example is what makes it hard for me to pick one side when it comes to parents posting about their kids on social media. While I understand the mom's eagerness and excitement to share her and her daughter's life happenings, I also understand the daughter's frustration over her mom sharing information about her online that she may consider sensitive. If I were the daughter, I might be asking myself, "will my friends see this?" It might be embarrassing to the daughter without the mother even considering it before posting such information.

At this point, you may be wondering how big of a deal 'sharenting' really is. Well, according to another article from The Atlantic, titled "The Perils of 'Sharenting': All those Facebook photos are cute—but how are they affecting the kids?," it states that in the United States, "the vast majority of 2-year-olds—more than 90 percent of them already have an online presence and "more than 80 percent of babies younger than that are already on social media, too." While these numbers are pretty big, they are not that surprising to me. I feel like with how much social media is popularized, people feel inclined to post anything and anyone on their accounts, especially parents, without really considering if who they are posting about even want it to be public.

Other than the emotional effects it may have on children, the previously mentioned article also mentions how 'sharenting' could also lead to more serious effects, such as identity theft and digital kidnapping when parents mention their child's name and birthdate in their posts. While this may be the case in some instances, I think the biggest or most common effect is most likely an embarrassed kid or teenager who thinks their parent or parents should take a break from social media.

All in all, I feel like parents should not only monitor their child's social media but also be cautious of how much they are posting about their child on their own social media accounts. There should be a line between you and your family's privacy and your presence on social media and that comes into play with how much you post about your family across any platform you be active on. Another important aspect to consider is what is appropriate to post and what is not appropriate and I think that is what a lot of parents struggle with today. They may be comfortable with posting something online while their child may feel the complete opposite. I think this could be a perfect opportunity to open up conversations with your family about this, so you may all come together and discuss what you are comfortable with other family members sharing about you on social media.

So, what is your opinion on 'sharenting?' Do you think there should be a limit for how much parents post on social media when the content is their children? Are you guilty of heaving ' sharenting?" Are you a victim of 'sharenting?'? I would love to hear about your stories or your opinion on the topic, so be sure to leave a comment below!

For anyone reading this, thank you for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed reading and learning more about the interesting topic that is 'sharenting.'

-CC