PAUSE BEFORE YOU POST, TEENS BEG 'SHARENTS'
Parents mortify kids with online oversharing
TEENS have it hard — not only do their parents embarrass them all the time in real life, but now social media have brought the new horror of “sharenting”.
And the practice — the online oversharing by parents of pictures of their offspring — is sparking widespread adolescent rebellion.
So much so that children are banning their parents from posting cringeworthy pictures on Facebook and Instagram and are insisting on a family social media policy.
New research by the universities of Washington and Michigan in the US revealed that many youngsters want to ban their parents from sharing their pictures online without their permission.
The study of nearly 250 families found that while many kids between the ages of 10 and 17 were concerned about the way their parents shared their lives online, the parents themselves often did not see the problem.
The aversion to sharenting is not limited to the US.
Local social media experts this week warned that youngsters’ concerns about privacy held weight.
“What we see is that parents are not looking after the privacy rights of their children,” said Johannesburg media law consultant Emma Sadleir.
“Before children have the autonomy to decide the extent of their digital footprint, or even if they want to be on social media at all, their images are splashed around the world by their parents.”
Many parents did not realise how dangerous digital content could be.
“You may post a photo of your child which criminals can download, photoshop and use for unspeakable purposes,” said Sadleir.
In France, there has been heated debate about the possibility of parents being sued, or even jailed, by their children for not guarding their privacy.
German authorities have called for parents to stop sharing pictures of their children online because they may be embarrassing or compromise their safety.
Lisa Sukdev of Durban has been banned by her teenage son from tagging him in pictures she posts to Facebook. He has moved to Instagram to avoid her.
“Apparently they are embarrassing pictures,” said Sukdev.
A study of 6 500 British schoolchildren found that 57% of them had signed up for real-time video- and picture-sharing network Snapchat because they believe it is more private.
Ingrid Jones, a director of Mikateko Media, a content company based in Cape Town, has been ordered by her 16-year-old daughter, whom she refers to as “The Teen” on social media, not to tag her in pictures.
“She’s not on Twitter, has a Facebook profile but posts very little, and none of the other big social media sites excites her,” Jones said.
“I put it all out there even if The Teen messes up. Social media is not a true reflection of our lives, according to The Teen.”
Nurah Hannibal, 12, of Cape Town, said parents “should use their discretion”.
“Pictures of birthday parties or family gatherings are fine, but not when you’re in the bath or doing something dumb,” she said.
Her mother, Nashira, said she used to post news of her children on Facebook to keep her family in other parts of the country and abroad up to date.
“These days, however, I’ve cooled down. Of late Nurah says ‘Are you going to post that?’ and rolls her eyes whenever I take a photograph of them. I have to respect her privacy. My son, on the other hand, loves seeing himself on my timeline and reading the comments.”
Social media commentator and writer Sipho Hlongwane said parents should accept that kids were “autonomous human beings with rights”.
“If a parent wants to post a photo of their child on Facebook, for instance, even if that child is 10 years old, they should ask.”
You may post a photo of your child which criminals can use for unspeakable purposes