Behind the headlines: Oversharing or just caring? Parents who post photos on social media
Parents are posting more photographs of their kids online than ever – but could it be doing more harm than good ?
When you scroll through social media you’re never far from a snap of a friend’s child, whether it’s with ice cream round their mouth or pulling a silly face. And while their parents may be innocently posting the picture, wanting to share the moment, others argue what they’re doing could actually be harmful. Here we speak to one woman who thinks nothing of posting daily pictures of her daughters…
‘I’ve shared more than 4,000 snaps of my daughters online’
To look at these photos of all the special moments I’ve shared with my children, you might think it’s a scrapbook, the kind you’d get out when family come over. Or, in years to come – much to the girls’ embarrassment – to show to their first boyfriends. I suppose in some ways it is a scrapbook. The only difference is all the photos are on social media. And there are thousands more to go with them.
My husband Phillip, 32, an engineer, and I have always posted pictures of the girls on Facebook, since before they were born. When I was pregnant with Ruby, in January 2009, I was in hospital with terrible sickness. It was easier to let people know what was going on by sharing my scan pictures online.
Keeping in touch
I was inundated with likes and congratulations, but I didn’t do it for that. I was happy I was able to share what was going on with my loved ones – particularly friends and family living in Dubai and Canada. And, when Ruby was born in July 2009, of course I shared the first photo of her to welcome her into the world.
With each milestone she hit, I’d take a snap and share that too. I did the same when I gave birth to her sister Lottie in July 2012. As they got older I’d take pictures on days out,