Social Media and Child Privacy

At the American Academy of Pediatrics 2016 National Conference & Exhibition, researchers discussed potential harms of parents posting information about their children on social media. A summary is provided in a news release which states that “92 percent of 2-year-olds in the United States have an online presence, and about one-third make their first appearance on social media sites within their first 24 hours of life.”

The researchers presented their findings and recommendations in an abstract entitled “What Parents Should Share: Child Privacy in the Age of Social Media and the Pediatrician's Role” and whose text can be found by navigating to https://www.eventscribe.net/2016/aapexperience/agenda.asp and selecting the 11:30 AM - 5:30 PM session entitled “C0017- Peds 21- The Medium Is the Message: How Electronic Media Are Transforming Our Patients’ World” which will then reveal an option to click on the “What Parents Should Share...” abstract.

For convenience, I'm providing their best practice guidelines verbatim. The authors state that parents should:

1. Familiarize themselves with the privacy policies of the sites with which they share.
2. Set up a notification to alert them when their child’s name appears in a Google search result.
3. Share anonymously if they choose to share about their children’s behavioral struggles.
4. Use caution before sharing their child’s actual location.
5. Give their child “veto power” over online disclosures, including images, quotes, accomplishments, and challenges.
6. NOT post pictures that show their children in any state of undress.
7. Consider the effect sharing can have on their child’s current and future sense of self and well-being.

I think these guidelines are both reasonable and practical. More importantly, I think it sheds light on a topic that many parents are not aware of or at least do not consciously think of in this fast-paced digital world. It certainly makes me reconsider my use of social media involving my child and to think about how we all should be respecting the privacy of children who cannot always speak up for themselves.