HEY BABY, LET’S POST THAT PIC
OST of us cringe at the sight of our baby photos; wrapped tight in the most hideous crochet blanket, pink squishy faces looking out at the world. They’re precious moments that our proud parents insist on bringing out at those awkward family gatherings.
It’s a physical keepsake that can be hidden under a pillow and away from prying eyes – unlike today, where it takes less than a moment to upload, like and share a picture from anywhere in the world.
The need to document every aspect of our lives is made even easier with social media and photo-sharing apps. It’s the age of Instagram and Snapchat and new parents are lapping it up.
Washington Post columnist Erica Jackson Curran recently documented her journey into motherhood online and started a private Instagram account for her son when she was 42-weeks pregnant.
“I wanted to share a picture of my enormous bump with close friends and family, but not with the acquaintances, strangers and spammers on my personal accounts. I invited a few people to follow, with the intention of posting the occasional baby photo to satisfy the cravings of those who cared to see,” she wrote.
Jackson documented insignificant moments that she felt were special and shared them freely in the semi-private space. For some parents, this is good enough, but for others it’s a constant overwhelming bombardment of baby pictures. When does it become too much? Celebs seem to be taking it to the extreme by documenting baby’s introduction to the world in the delivery room. US music producer DJ Khaled went as far as filming his son’s birth on Snapchat. Reality TV star Blac Chyna created her own version of the mannequin challenge while in labour.
Rapper Ice T and Coco’s baby girl, Chanel Nicole, has her own Instagram account with more than 400 000 followers. This seems to be the norm as many celeb babies are born with their own social media accounts – copywritten of course.
Do you post pictures of your baby on social media?
We put the question to parents in a Facebook post.
Terri-Liza Fortein shares pics of her children on Facebook because she says it allows her to connect with family that’s scattered across the globe.
“Social media brings us closer together and we can share special moments. It’s also a great back-up to have when losing a phone or when a laptop crashes,” she says.
What about privacy issues? The thought of complete strangers leering from behind the safety of their computers is enough to shock any parent into disbelief.
Asanda Sokanyile, mom of a five-year-old daughter, agrees: “It’s a safety risk to have pics of your children floating around on social media, especially in these dark and dangerous times. You don’t know what pervert is lurking in the background.”
Quinton Mtyala brings up a valuable point – Facebook has facial-recognition software – something that you might not be aware of if you’re a parent.
The social media’s Help Centre page states: “We use facialrecognition software that uses an algorithm to calculate a unique number based on someone’s facial features.”
In a nutshell, facial-recognition software identifies a person from a digital image or video frame by comparing selected facial features from the image and a face database.
Gee Motsepe, from HDI Youth Marketeers, says it’s a parent’s choice to post pictures of their children online, but they “need to understand that once it’s on social media it’s there forever and people are able to download their baby’s images and use them.”
And when it comes to posting newborn pics straight from the delivery room?
“That moment is very intimate for a mother and her newborn child, which I believe does not belong on social media. At least upload the baby pic hours later after the baby is bathed and the mom has regained her strength,” Motsepe says.