Not long after my son was born, I set up a Gmail account in his name and also started him an Instagram. I suppose this would classify me as a “basic” Millennial Mom but growing up in this day and age, most of our days {whether or not you fully support it} are based around technology and social media. I figured, ‘why not start him now before someone else takes his handle.’
I’ve come to learn that people have very strong opinions about sharing children’s photos online. Maybe I’m naive about cyber predators and other Internet crazies, but what’s the difference if I share an occasional photo on my personal page {without his permission} or create his own that he can one day delete if he doesn’t want it?
You might think, ‘a child should have a choice of whether or not he wants a social media presence.’ To that, I say: do you let your kid decide if/when he’s going to bathe or if you’re enrolling him in swim lessons at 1 year old? No. You do it because you’re the parent and parents make decisions with the betterment of the child in mind. I would never do something that intentionally places my son in harm’s way.
I may not be a Kardashian, but I do have a personal brand that I’ve worked hard to establish and maintain. My son is a major part of that now but I am still me: a wife, mom, daughter, sister, cousin, friend, and everything in between. My social media accounts reflect who I am in each facet of my life, including my social life, beliefs and work. I don’t need to be bogging down family and friends’ timelines and threads everyday with new photos and videos of my son’s “firsts,” his adorable belly laugh {ok, maybe that one should be shared with the masses}, or his newest trick. That’s why he has his own account; Family and friends that are approved to {yes, his account is private} and choose to see photos and videos can, by simply following him.
The best part of my day is being able to capture the fun {and many times the craziness} that I have with my little man. I want to be able to share that with the people in his life that aren’t there everyday while trying to figure out from what perspective he is coming. The Instagram captions are written by my husband or me based on what we believe our son would say. It’s fun to be able to think like a toddler for a minute and realize that nothing else in the world truly matters. Life is easy, humorous and simple. Plus, iPhones and computers only have so much storage — these accounts are ways to preserve a lifetime of memories.
When my son is old enough to use social media on his own, email might be a thing of the past. But right now, it’s one of the most popular forms of communication. By giving his email address to family and friends, I’ve been able to create a digital scrapbook for him to look back on and place a date and time to a particular event. People have emailed him {I promise I have not read them} sharing photos or funny stories from earlier in the day, or to simply remind him how much they love him. When he’s a teenager I plan to give him the password so that he can go back on his own time and read at these memories over and over again.
If, one day, my son chooses to delete these accounts I created for him that’s fine. It’s his prerogative. But today they’re there, and here to stay.
Do your kids have social media accounts? What is your opinion on this topic? Share in the comment box below!
