How Parents’ Social Media Posts Are Affecting Their Children
October 17, 2019
source: Getty images
Gone are the days of physical photographs and photo albums stuffed full of memories. Now, we all take pictures using our smartphones, and the resulting photos are swiftly uploaded to various social media platforms. The majority of parents post pictures of their children online without a second thought. However, a recent study is bringing to light how we’re unknowingly affecting our children through this unwanted “digital footprint.”
According to CBC, the average parent will post more than 1,000 pictures of their children online before they are even old enough to have their own social media accounts. In fact, a child’s digital footprint may even form before they’re born — when parents post their baby’s ultrasounds online. The study we’re about to discuss explains that children are “datafied” from birth, and all of this personal data floating around may greatly impact their futures.
The study goes on to note that all of this personal data we’re releasing about our children can one day influence which universities they are accepted to, their job applications, and even their abilities to be approved for loans and mortgages. And what’s perhaps even more frightening is that this data on our children isn’t just being released via social media networks.
Even baby and child-friendly devices like toys and baby monitors will release data on a child. The study warns that our children’s data is routinely being collected through location-tracking devices, school databases, and classroom apps. Of course, it’s a scary thought to know that our children’s information is being passed around, and that this tradeoff may negatively influence their futures.
In today’s digital age, it can be difficult to find a balance between hiding your child from the digital world altogether, and sharing some great memories with friends and family members online. We need to be wary of the data we’re knowingly and unknowingly providing about our children if we want their futures to be unaffected by this negative aspect of the digital realm. To learn more, watch the video below.
