SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) – Social media has become a part of most people’s daily lives – including parents who don’t think twice about posting photos of their kids online.
In fact, 92 percent of children in the country have a digital footprint by the age of two, according to a 2010 report from internet security company, AVG.
The practice of over-sharing kids' photos on social media has been dubbed “sharenting,” and it comes with many risks.
Dr. Kara Bagot is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and assistant professor in the UC San Diego psychiatry department. She and her husband have two young kids, but you will not find any photos of them online.
“About half of parents will not only put a picture online but also at least a first name, and potentially a last name. Then maybe up to a quarter of parents will put the date of birth as well. That can be really dangerous. Parents are not really thinking of the downstream consequences of what they are putting online,” she said.
When parents post about their kids’ hobbies or habits – good or bad – their "digital identity" is born. It’s an unconscious labeling of sorts that parents are doing to their kids, especially when they reach their teenage years and are forming their own identity.
“I want them to feel like they have every opportunity to be whoever they want to be and not someone I preset for them when they were babies,” said Dr. Bagot.
Online posts that may seem harmless when kids are babies and toddlers may later play a role in a child’s development, leading to embarrassment, anxiety, teasing or bullying.
Dr. Bagot was asked if kids should have a say when their image is posted online. She replied, "100 percent, I think these kids should have a say. What's cute to us may be really embarrassing to them. They (kids) should be able to have a veto on what goes up."
Other dangers of “sharenting” include identity theft and possible consequences of compromising photos affecting college admissions and career opportunities.
Dr Bagot also added, “There are privacy issues. It is not totally private when you post things online. People you don’t know outside your friends, family can use naked baby photos, chubby babies, child pornography. I don’t think parents think it through. I think it is really important especially when kids become of age, is it okay with them being out there in the digital world?”