How your ‘sharenting’ could be damaging your child
We all love to post pictures of our cute kids, but overeager parents including celebrities sharing everything from pregnancy ultrasounds to toilet training could be hurting their children. This is why.
Kids are fed up with their parents’ “sharenting” and want them to ask permission before posting photos on social media, a new study shows.
Many children have an extensive digital identity thanks to their parents posting pictures of everything from pregnancy ultrasounds to potty training to the first day at school.
It’s been dubbed sharenting — a mix of parenting and sharing.
A Belgian study of 46 children aged 12 to 14 found that while some kids trust their parents to use good judgment, many want to set boundaries on what is posted.
“The general conclusion was that when children understand what the impact of pictures and posts can be, which was around 13 years old, parents should ask permission,” researcher Gaelle Ouvrein from the University of Antwerp said.
She found around half of those interviewed were worried about the fear of “one of their parents sharing ugly and embarrassing pictures of them” — snaps where the child looks weird or is nude.
Celebrity offspring are not immune from these feelings, with Apple Martin, daughter of actor and influencer Gwyneth Paltrow, objecting to a photo her mother posted of her while skiing in March.
“Mom we have discussed this. You may not post anything without my consent,” she said.
The photo showed Apple in a ski helmet, with most of her face obscured.
More recent photos posted for the girl’s 15th birthday this week appear to have been “Apple approved”.
Dr Ouvrein and her co-author Karen Verswijvel found that many teens “indicated that parents should respect a couple of boundaries concerning what types of posts can be shared, how often and with whom”.
“Moreover, they should ask permission before actually posting about their children,” they said in Children and Youth Services Review journal.
Celebrities who commonly share photos, such as model and presenter Rebecca Judd, singer Pink and radio host and author Hamish Blake and Zoe Foster Blake, have come under fire as their children are too young to consent.
Reality TV star and trainer Sam Wood also attracted criticism this year for posting a nude photo of his daughter Willow, then one, in Port Douglas.
Dr Ouvrein said adolescents she surveyed were not only worried about the consequences of such images in the short term, but the long term as well.
“Several adolescents referred to how ugly and embarrassing pictures might become a problem when looking for a job, as recruiters always scan online profiles nowadays and they are well aware of the fact that these pictures will stay online forever,” she said.
SHARENTING RULES
— Not all kind of photos can be shared.
— Parents should avoid sharing pictures that are embarrassing or might generate negative comments.
— The shared information cannot be too personal (no addresses) or too intimate (no nudes).
— Parents should restrict their sharing behaviour to special occasions rather than everyday activities.
— When in doubt, ask your kids.
Source: Children and Youth Services Review
Originally published as How your ‘sharenting’ could be damaging your child