Kids & social media

Assam Police have shared some data which give strong indications as to how over-sharing of a child’s life on social media by their parents can have certain very serious consequences.

One day after the state Chief Minister asked it to develop a people-friendly approach, Assam Police have come up with a strong message for the social media-obsessed parents. The Sunday edition of this newspaper quoted the Assam Police message, which reads, "Dear parents, children are not social media trophies. Let us not endanger their safety for social media validation." It is a timely message put out by the Assam Police for the overall well-being of society. Having said so, Assam Police have also shared some data which give strong indications as to how over-sharing of a child's life on social media by their parents can have certain very serious consequences. Sharing or over-sharing of a child's life on social media can lead to various kinds of dangerous situations, the first and foremost being the danger of children falling prey to predator adults prowling on social media. According to mental health experts, premature, unwanted and prolonged exposure to social media can cause serious repercussions on the psychology of young children. There is no doubt that as in the case of all other people, social media platforms are also central to children's daily lives in contemporary times. But, while online platforms can provide a gateway to opportunity, they can also expose children to potential abuse and exploitation. Over-sharing your children's life on social media can give easy access to criminals. The advent of digital culture has transformed the way parents have become 'shares' by way of documenting their children's life. The term 'sharent' was coined by Steven Leckert in Wall Street Journal in the early 2010s. According to him, a 'sharent' is a parent who overshares content about his/her children on various internet platforms. Media reports quoting studies say a child will have up to 1,000 pictures of them on social media before they are five. From ultrasound snapshots to images of the first birthday and the first day at school, today's parents flood social media with various images of their children in full public view. In the process, such parents often end up sharing a lot of sensitive information about their children and themselves. What is most dangerous is that a seemingly innocuous Facebook post, shared in a typical moment of family pride and happiness can in reality reveal a lot of vital information about a child, like his or her name, date of birth, name of the school, and so on, which can all be misused by people having ulterior motives.

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