Sharenting: Do parents share too much on social media?
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -
Some of social medias greatest stars arent even old enough to tweet: Pictures of kids playing dress up, having meltdowns and even in the bathtub adorn Facebook walls. Diaper-donning toddlers dancing to the likes of Beyonce and Taylor Swift rack up YouTube views. Countless blogs share stories about everything from potty training to preschool struggles.
TodaysUniversity of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Healthfinds that this so-called sharenting isnt going anywhere anytime soon, with more than half of mothers and one-third of fathers discussing child health and parenting on social media and nearly three quarters of parents saying social media makes them feel less alone.
Web extra: Read the full report here Buthow far is too farwhen it comes to crossing the boundaries between public and private life?
By the time children are old enough to use social media themselves many already have a digital identity created for them by their parents, saysSarah J. Clark, M.P.H., associate director of the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Childrens Hospital National Poll on Childrens Health and associate research scientist in the U-M Department of Pediatrics.
Sharing the joys and challenges of parenthood and documenting childrens lives publicly has become a social norm so we wanted to better understand the benefits and cons of these experiences. On one hand, social media offers todays parents an outlet they find incredibly useful. On the other hand, some are concerned that oversharing may pose safety and privacy risks for their children.
When sharing parenting advice on social media, common topics included getting kids to sleep (28%), nutrition and eating tips (26%), discipline (19%), daycare/preschool (17%) and behavior problems (13%), according to the November/December Mott poll that surveyed a national sample of parents of children aged 0-4. Nearly 70 percent of parents said they use social media to get advice from other more experienced parents and 62 % said it helped them worry less.
However, parents also recognized potential pitfalls of sharing information about their children, with nearly two-thirds concerned someone would learn private information about their child or share photos of their child. More than half also worried that when older, their child may be embarrassed by what was shared.
These networks bring parents together in ways that werent possible before, allowing them to commiserate, trade tips and advice, share pride for milestones and reassure one another that theyre not alone, Clark says.
However, theres potential for the line between sharing and oversharing to get blurred. Parents may share information that their child finds embarrassing or too personal when theyre older but once its out there, its hard to undo. The child wont have much control over where it ends up or who sees it.
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Sharenting: Do parents share too much on social media?