Children's Photos on Social Media?

*Please know that I write this from a personal perspective and with no judgment on other parents and their individual choices. In an era where social media is rife and we seem to take more photographs than ever, gone are the days of privacy. Most of us choose to share virtually anything publicly, using limitless hashtags, and hoping for ultimate ‘likes’ and comments, thus maximum exposure. With algorithms tracking your google searches and then selling these to advertising companies so ads pop up in your news feed, as well as theories that we are being ‘listened to’ through our phones, I worry about where our future is headed. Educating myself and choosing wisely what I do and don’t share, is not about being inauthentic or secretive, rather about being sensible, in my view. Now with a baby on board, I have to consider what is the best for her and her future. My partner and I had the discussion before she was even born, regarding our thoughts and feelings on sharing photos of her on our social media platforms. The outcome of this discussion was that we both agreed until she is of an age that she understands the magnitude of social media and can consent to her photograph/s being publicly posted, we won’t. As time goes on, the more passionately I feel about this. She can’t choose what we do or don’t post and as a result those images will be publicly accessible for years to come. Not only could this embarrass her, but we also need to consider could this impact her adult profile and any job prospects?! This may seem a little extreme to many, as we have embraced social media and the ability it has given us to share and connect around the globe. But again, we chose to look further ahead by not wanting to make this choice on behalf of our child before she can understand the full gravity of social media. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not naive in understanding that whatever pictures I send via private message end up floating around up there in cyber space somewhere, but they won’t be as easily accessible to the average person, which is reassuring in the short term. I’ll end as I began, with no judgment for anyone else’s decision on what they choose to do with their children. I merely wanted to share some insight into what we have chosen and why.