Protecting our children in the social media world is important now more than ever.
Family vlogging channels used to be such a novel idea a decade ago when YouTube was born. But even before family vlogging became popular, were we not using camcorders and film-camera to capture childhood memories? I grew up with my father and mother constantly filming me with their bulky camcorders or snapping their cameras that they would take to Costco to develop the film. It was fun to take pictures and then see the results a week later; or, pop in that VHS recorded from the family camcorder to see our faces on the TV.
That 90’s era of capturing our childhood memories have now streamlined into what it is now: filming on our smartphones to post online instantaneously for the whole world to see. YouTube and other video streaming platforms allow us to take a peek into others’ lives, which can be daunting because in the past, our family videos only stayed in the family, not to the whole world. Obviously, not so scary for family vloggers and bloggers. They [Sharents] relish in broadcasting their children’s milestones to the whole world, even it is humiliating. In fact, there is a huge backlash against the family vlogging channel, “8 Passengers,” on how the matriarch weaponized and abused her children for monetary gain and internet clout.
The connotation of this post is negative toward exposing children online, especially on social media because it is wrong. I cannot sugar-coat how being a Sharent is selfish and careless; and in fact, abusive. So, what exactly is a Sharent? According to Dictionary.com, a Sharent is, “a parent who frequently shares such personal information on social media.” This word came about from the years 2010-2015 by combining the words “share” and “parent,” which is when the family vlogging trend starting booming. From parents pranking their children to daily vlogging on a “normal” family life, sharenting was born.
Diving Deeper in this Dangerous Sharenting Mindset
Children Cannot Consent
Children do not understand the concept of the world-wide-web. Holding a recording camera in front of them may be fun and games for them when in reality it’s not. They do not understand the gravity of what being immortalized online is like. Filming them and then posting it online takes away their power and voice to make their own choice of having or not having internet presence. Maybe in the future once they become cognizant, consenting beings, they might want to delete the content, but won’t be able to because nothing on the internet truly gets deleted forever.
Research shows that human brains continuously develop until 23-24 years of age. This is when all parts of the brain are fully matured and at its fullest potential. Therefore, until they reach that age, humans are not their fullest capacity to think rationally and logically. This further drives my point that it is impossible for a child of a single-digit age to weigh the pros and cons fully of being exposed online. It’s our duty to give them the choice to do so after educating them of what the online world is like. So, when we make that choice away from them, we are taking away their independence and individuality.
Adulterating Our Innocent Children
We never know who is on the other side of the screen when we share our photos, posts, videos and etc. I find it so amusing when my favorite American YouTubers share where they are getting views from. For example, Aba & Preach get YouTube views all the way from Finland, Uzbekistan, and so many other countries. Which then makes me think about how many people are looking at the photos sharents post of their children doing mundane activities like eating, sleeping, playing and bathing. Something so monotonous can be perverted in this unsavory world we live in.
Being a sharent is abusive.
