The Social Media Guide for Parents of the Sharing Era

Social media is increasingly present in our lives. Sharing our routines, what we eat, who we meet and what we are listening to has become the norm, so much so that there are now many people who have turned this into their work and source of income. Amidst all this, certain necessary precautions have been taken for granted, especially by parents and people who live with kids.

The internet provides great things, such as support networks for parents, for instance — however, there are certain behaviors that need to be reviewed and questioned. Is it healthy for children to grow up with so many moments of their lives exposed on the internet? The main tool to find a healthy balance on social media is common sense.

That is why we have brought here part of an article from the Common Sense Media website, A New Parent’s Guide to Social Media. Check out below.

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A New Parent's Guide to Social Media

By Caroline Knorr

This is a reproduction of part of an article originally published on the Common Sense Media website. No copyright infringement intended.

Keep your head in the game of social media

Think through your posts – really. To you, an ultrasound image or the story of baby's first giggle is the most precious thing ever. To the rest of the world, it's just content. (Cute content, but still.) Social platforms track data, your followers judge what you post, and just like anything else, your information can be copied, shared, or misused. Ask yourself the three questions below to determine whether you need to share smaller. If so, you can send your picture to specific people, make an invite-only private group, or just set your profile to private.

1. How will this make others feel? Maybe you have followers struggling with fertility who aren't ready to share your joy. Maybe your friends are over your baby (sorry). Maybe folks disagree with your choice to share baby pics at all.

2. How wide is my network? You could be connected to people you barely know – friends of friends of friends – and there's no guarantee that those people will have your family's best interests at heart.

3. Is my profile public or private? Stories about people's kids' photos falling into the wrong hands -- for example, stock-photography brokers looking for baby pics to sell or internet trolls misusing images – are a growing risk. The bad guys get their stuff from public profiles.

Avoid "over-sharenting." What's over-sharenting? Pictures of poop, constant updates on every gurgle, livestreams of intimate moments such as breastfeeding, bath time, and potty training. Be thoughtful about what you're sharing and how often. And make sure to comment, like, or otherwise interact with your friends' and families' posts about their lives.

Know when to go to the pros. It's fine to get input from your online pals, but for anything that has major importance – feeding, health and safety, money, education – call your pediatrician, child care provider, financial advisor, or your mom. Anything with minimal consequences, such as when to put baby in shoes or the best time to clip their nails, is OK to crowdsource.

Be careful about baby's "digital footprint." Some parents create social media profiles for their babies with the idea their kids will use them when they turn 13 (the age of consent for social media). While it can be fun for relatives to get an update "from baby," a profile creates a digital footprint, which invites data tracking, marketing, and other privacy issues. If you decide to create a profile, make sure you include only minimal information, use strict privacy settings, and avoid any photos that are potentially embarrassing.

Here are some things to consider:

1. You might love the photos of baby in the tub, but how will they feel about them when they're older?

2. Tweens or teens might be upset that you used their names to create profiles they didn't actually consent to.

3. Social media sites are for users over 13 because companies use data – basically, who your friends are, what you click on, and where you go on the web – to build a demographic profile, which they then sell to other companies for marketing purposes. The data isn't personally identifiable, but it's still Big Brother-ish to think they're tracking your baby's online movements.

Be Practical

Join a photo-storage service. You'll post about 7 billion photos of your kid before they're out of diapers. Photo-storage platforms such as Flickr, Photobucket, and Google Photos have the advantage of free or low-cost storage, plus the ability to share with only certain people or groups. (Every online platform has privacy issues, though, so make sure you're comfortable with the terms of any service you join.)

Preserve memories digitally. You can do this a few ways. Some parents like to grab the opportunity to create an email account under baby's name. Once they have an email address, you can use it to send messages, photos, and videos so they are all collected in one place. Or, consider an electronic scrapbook or journal such as Notabli, 23snaps, and eFamily, which offer a secure way to collect and share photos, videos, and stories.

Protect your well-being

Get rid of triggers. The highly curated photos and posts from friends whose lives seem more fulfilling can make moms feel sad, jealous, and angry. Unfollow anyone who doesn't make you feel good. Instead, seek out groups, advocates, and thought leaders who nourish your soul.

Tweak your settings. Most social platforms allow you to hide posts (see fewer posts from someone); snooze (temporarily stop seeing posts); mute (turn someone off for a while); and do not disturb (temporarily block a person).

Manage notifications. Constant pings on your phone can overwhelm and distract you. You can turn off notifications entirely, allow only important ones, or batch them so you receive them on a schedule.

Connect with the growing anti-perfection movement. Real Simple's public Instagram profile, #womenirl, shares photos from people's real (messy) lives.

Step away. The impact of social media isn't fully understood. New parents are emotionally vulnerable because they're tired, unsure, and perhaps suffering from postpartum depression. If you feel crappy more than you feel good, and sharing photos from your life doesn't make you feel better, talk to a professional about what you're going through.