Sharenting online: Keeping kids identities safe

How can we share children’s milestones safely on social media?

Transcript

00:00Before a child ever takes their first step, they have a digital footprint with

00:06hundreds of photos and videos of them shared online. While we all love a cute

00:12baby pic, experts ask us to be cautious before clicking post.

00:18We in no way want to tell parents not to take those photographs and not to share them

00:22but to think about ways that we can take photographs of those joyful moments and

00:27and share them in ways that don't compromise our child's safety.

00:31The Early Start Discovery Space is the first dedicated children's museum within a university

00:38and in this space they are teaching families creative and safe ways

00:42to share content on social media.

00:46We had a focus working with families, particularly the adults in the families,

00:51on ways that they can really capture those joyful moments in their

00:55child's life, so those spontaneous interactions that make such great social media posts.

01:01And you can see here just some examples of some of the photos that our community have

01:05taken of their child in the moment but in ways that aren't compromising their child's identity.

01:12Young children bring a photo of themselves and create their own artworks

01:17to learn about how filters work.

01:20We help children understand that images can be changed and manipulated in online environments.

01:27So before you click post, ask yourself...

01:31How much is recognisable in the photograph?

01:34Are you giving clues around your child's age, where they live, what they're doing,

01:39who's in their family?

01:41The second thing that I would encourage families to think about is how the child

01:44feels about that image.

01:46Is it something that gives them joy?

01:48Is it something that embarrasses them?

01:50And then how might they feel about that image down the track in five years, in ten years and so on.

01:56And the third thing I really encourage families to think about is who has access to those images.

02:01So have a look at the privacy settings in the online applications that you're using

02:06and make sure you're comfortable with who's going to be able to access those.