Digital Footprints can Last a Lifetime

May 28, 2020 | Cyber Parenting - Advice by Age

Tread carefully, digital footprints can last a lifetime

It’s tempting to share family moments online, it may be funny also, but how will your future teen feel about that cute toddler shot?

In 2009, David DeVore posted a video of his young son still woozy after a trip to the dentist. It went viral. “That was really the only time we thought, ‘Maybe we should take it down’ not realising, like we do now, that once it’s out, it’s kind of out,” DeVore said in an interview with CNN. Five years on, you can still view his son’s reaction. So far, As of 21 January 2020, it has been viewed over 139 million times on YouTube. In an age when privacy is becoming an outdated concept, it’s down to parents to decide where they’re going to draw the line. So where do you stop?

51% of parents who use Facebook to post about their children have thought about the embarrassment it could cause in later life, and 66% said they’d stop updates if their children asked them to when they get older. So, consider this: how will you advise your ‘future teenager’ on what’s appropriate to post if you’ve been posting embarrassing shots of them throughout their childhood?

It is a debate that could go on and on, who’s choice is it and what to be uploaded on a social media platform. Could something you post when you child is three years old effect something they want to do when they get older?

Source: Vodafone DP

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