09/26/2023
SORRY MOM(s) AND DAD(s)
I have debated posting this for too long:
How we consume online content has shifted, with many turning to YouTube instead of traditional TV. Now, it's more important than ever that creators must maintain ethical and responsible practices when producing content, especially involving children.
In 2021, "YouTube dominated the video content landscape, with 85% of kids reporting they watched YouTube" - TV Tech.
YouTubers and influencers have heavily impacted our society, giving everyone a near-equal opportunity to put videos out there and try to get famous. The difference with this fame between, say, a celebrity is that they may also have a gated community, bodyguards, and security to add a barrier of protection - where "normal" creators might not have access to that, leaving their kids vulnerable.
Strangers can find out a lot about these kids -some have even watched them grow up without their families ever knowing who they are. That is terrifying because according to the FBI:
"In the United States, an estimated 460,000 children are reported missing every year."
And there are no rules and regulations for kids and the internet, and it's our responsibility to keep them safe.
If you share it online, there will always be some risk.
Here are some things you can do:
Start by looking at your privacy settings and updating them to limit the number of people seeing your posts, whether that's going on your close friends' stories or the settings are set for a specific audience.
Don't post their school or sports jerseys for their teams (or any identifying things for that matter)
At the very least, if you're at the park and you snap your kid, don't post it until after you're long gone.
Here are two people I think are doing it right:
- the Laguna Beach alum mom never posts pictures with her children's faces in the camera; it's always a back-of-head type shot, if any.
&
- the deadpan Podcaster and TikTokker refers to her daughters as Richard and Concrete to keep their identities private.
(ran out of room, continued in the top pinned comment)
photo via - Webelos Scout Book
