self esteem of children in social media era

 “If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.”

— Jeff Bezos, CEO, Amazon


self esteem of children in social media era

Parents do not realize the importance of being careful in sharing many pictures of children on social media as it can make children feel inferior.

Focus on how to be social, not how to do social.”

— Jay Baer, founder, Convince & Convert

Social media has opened up new avenues for people to interact and learn about each other. There are also a variety of problems. We often take precautionary measures when sharing messages, photos and videos. We often skip caution. In this obsession, many of us also share pictures of our children on social media.

But have we ever thought that sharing children's photos on social media can be embarrassing for children?

According to a recent study, the tendency of people to share pictures of children has increased so much. On average, by the time a child reaches the age of 5, more than 1,500 pictures have been posted online. 

The first two decades  of the 21st century have been decades of social media. At first, they were only popular with young people, but now, according to some research, they are more popular with older people than young people.

Older people, the majority of whom are parents.  They often share posts about their children's lives on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites.  But in the wake of child suicides after being harassed or ridiculed on the Internet, people are beginning to question whether it is right to post pictures of your children on social media like this, especially when your child not qualified to make a decision in this regard?

A mother interviewed on a New Zealand website in which she strongly protested against posting pictures of her children on the Internet, according to a woman named Chloe Lambert, whose daughter is not yet two years old.  And not a single picture of her exists on Facebook or Instagram while the lives of most of the children of her daughter's age are present on social media at every moment.  Lambert says that if a picture of her was taken with her child at an event and a friend later posted the picture on the Internet, she would tell the friend to remove the picture because she thought she had someone with her daughter.  The photo should not be available on the internet without her consent. When her daughter grows up, she can create her own profile on social media.  But it will be his own decision but until that happens it is my responsibility to maintain his privacy.  She also said that not only does she take pictures of her daughter, but she also takes countless pictures of her daughter.  And share with your husband, friends, family members but on WhatsApp.  He further said that the negative effects of social media on young minds have now been thoroughly investigated and the creators of social media platforms have to admit that they keep their children away from these platforms as they are well aware of their disadvantages.  Guess what

Lambert says parents who post pictures of their children from time to time on the Internet should not complain that their children stick to the screen all the time as they grow up.  He also believes that posting pictures of happy and smiling children sitting on elaborate furniture on the internet can lead to depression in people who are either childless or have lost a child.  Instead, she believes that instead of posting pictures of children on Instagram, she should choose the right filter so that she can spend more time with her daughter.

Experts warn that parents should think twice before uploading a picture of their children on the Internet.  According to research, one in five parents upload pictures of their children at least once a month.  Child protection experts have expressed their concerns.  They say that uploading so many pictures of children at an early age can be dangerous and can cause your child to react violently later. This can be due to embarrassment, being ridiculed by others or disliking an image of oneself.  Experts say that even if it is very important, take permission from your children and share their picture.

The obsession with selfies and the tendency to look different with new filters is also taking a dangerous turn.  An American mother snapped a picture of her children with a snap chat filter in which the children's ears and mouths resembled those of a dog.  Later, the child's classmates saw the picture and ridiculed him, which made the child unwilling to go to school for several days.

“Don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t want plastered on a billboard with your face on it.”

Erin Bury, managing director, Eighty-Eight

According to expert, parents should be very careful about sharing pictures of their children so that they do not upload any pictures that may cause embarrassment to them in the future.

“Generation C: Describes the growing group of consumers that is obsessed with generating their own ‘content’ — expressing creative urges by snapping photos with camera phones, producing movies on home computers for general distribution or running personal blogs. Of course, just because the masses ‘can’ still doesn’t make it ‘art.’”

— BuzzWhack

As parents, we should keep the following in mind before uploading pictures of our children on social media.

Photos without clothes

We may have seen pictures posted on social media by parents showing children bathing and undressing.  This affects children's privacy.  At the same time, people online can easily misuse images.

Sick or injured photos

You can probably get people's sympathy from a picture of a sick child.  Remember, though, that is not the case.  According to an expert, parents who share such images online are called advertisers.  There are many parents who do not get to hear more sympathetic words while raising their children.  Sharing a picture of a sick child can lead to laxity and comments, but parents can also become accustomed to such reactions.

Private Details Photos 

If your child has won a school award and your child appears in a photo you shared on social media, these details about your child can be easily traced to bad guys and even kidnappers  can reach.



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