Don’t Be “That” Parent on Social Media

If you’re on Facebook or Instagram or most other social media platforms, you probably know people who have a child and become a sharent. You know, that parent on social media. Suddenly, your friend’s profile is not hers anymore – it’s her baby’s. Your feed becomes inundated with various photos of her baby living its cute – but arguably mundane – life. You see the baby smiling with spaghetti sauce on its cheeks, you see it snuggling its favorite stuffed pony, the list goes on and on. Becoming a parent is a huge, wonderful milestone in life. It’s joyous and life-changing. But is it the best decision to share every moment of parenthood to public social networks?

What’s posted online, stays online.

When people share content featuring their kids, that content will remain on the internet (however hidden) forever. Those kids will grow up and possibly discover that their mom or dad shared their personal moments with the general public. Babies and young children can’t express their permission to a parent. Should the parent wait until the child is older so they can ask for his or her permission before posting something? It’s worth considering now to prevent unpleasant surprises later. Parents who share this kind of content are not just sharing a piece of themselves, but of their children as well.

Oversharing gets old.

For some, it can be tiring to see baby photo after baby photo filling up their social media feeds. The truth is that those everyday occurrences just aren’t as exciting for everyone else as they are for that parent. Viewers either don’t have kids and therefore don’t get the total obsession and amazement over every small thing the child does, or they do have kids and will of course always think their kids are more amazing and interesting than anyone else’s.

Monkey see, monkey do.

The mind of a child is like a sponge, and they soak up more information from their parents than anyone else. They see how their parents behave, and they retain that information. They are always watching and learning. Even very young children will notice how you use your phone or the internet. While they may not yet have a solo internet presence, one day they will. If you consistently overshare about your family or your child, they will probably think they should be doing that, too. But do you want them to frequently share their activities or location?

There are better options for sharing.

Capturing moments with children is a wonderful way to preserve memories. And of course, sharing them with loved ones and friends can help to spread the joy. But, sharing has a time and a place and public social media networks might not be that place. Go2s is a private social network perfect for sharing updates with family and friends. Go2s users enjoy highly customizable privacy settings, so you have complete control over who sees your updates and who doesn’t. The group functionality on Go2s also makes it easy to connect with people who want to see as much as your willing to share, so you can keep the frequent updates out of the hands of unwanted or unwilling viewers. Go2s’ platform is founded completely in trust, so you can create a profile and share updates knowing that your information is secure.

Every parent takes joy in their child, and it’s not wrong to want to share that joy. But, in today’s digital age it’s important to proceed with caution when sharing online. By behaving responsibly, you can give your kids the power of privacy and set a good example for them to follow when they create their own online presence.