From Likes to Privacy: Rethinking Approach to SHARENTING

      In the age of social media, parents are increasingly drawn into the world of "sharenting" – the practice of sharing photos, videos, and anecdotes about their children online. It's understandable; after all, who wouldn't want to share the joy of their child's first steps or that infectious smile with friends and family?

    However, what often begins as innocent sharing can have serious implications for our children's privacy and security. As parents, it's crucial to pause and consider the potential risks before hitting that 'post' button.

(Image generated by AI: https://gencraft.com/generate) 

    One of the primary concerns surrounding sharenting is the issue of consent. Children are unable to give informed consent to having their lives broadcasted online, yet their parents often do so without a second thought. What seems adorable or funny to us now may be deeply embarrassing or even harmful to our children as they grow older.

    Moreover, the internet is a vast and often unpredictable space. Every photo, video, or story shared about our children becomes part of their digital footprint, potentially accessible to anyone with an internet connection. This leaves them vulnerable to identity theft, cyberbullying, and even exploitation by malicious individuals.

    As parents, it's our responsibility to prioritize our children's privacy and safety above the temporary validation of likes and comments. Instead of seeking approval from strangers online, we should focus on creating meaningful connections and memories with our children in the real world.

    So, before you share that adorable photo or heartwarming anecdote, take a moment to consider the long-term consequences. Is it worth sacrificing your child's privacy for a few moments of online validation? Let's break free from the cycle of sharenting and safeguard our children's privacy for the future.

FACEBOOK : The New Playground @ Dangerous

1.    It does not date back long in the past time corridors when I as a kid used to go to play grounds in the evening to play with my friends...meet them....fight with them...abuse them...get abused and then get back home for studies and prepare for next days school work and the cycle repeated every day...week and months.But what happens today with a typical metro kid....a school child in the bracket age of 10+ goes to Facebook to play with friends...he meets them.....abuses them at times...gets abused on the wall or vide posts.So more or less....things stand at the same place ,only the grounds have changed.First it was the actual play grounds and now it is all getting virtual.....blame it on lack of infrastructure with concrete eating much of space in metro's or lack of parental monitoring owing to their ultra busy lives.....for the new era generation...social networking sites like Facebook is the new PLAYGROUND.....the virtual one for a change!!!!

2.    So the rules remain the same....ie we have our social circle like we used to have in past...we meet vide post and comments...we like each other for something and dislike each other for some thing...here we cannot shake hands and hug each other but yess we can take grudges out of each other via so many means like hacking....cyber bullying...post hatred... cyber stalk...mobbing...sexting,internet trolling etc...the list is actually endless and the related terminology is on a phenomenal increase.So a typical new gen kid for whom Facebook kind social networking sites are the new playground to play....the proneness to the bad elements in the society remains actually higher then in past....for here it is just a matter of few compromised screenshots...hacked passwords and the kid is on way to become a victim...

3.   The recent case of Amanda Todd is indeed beginning of such sad but many in line expected incidents waiting to happen....today we may allow our kids to have a Facebook account or some social networking website account but without effectively monitoring the kid remains as prone as Amanda Todd.For this to happen the parent have to have basic IT IQ quotient to monitor to avoid any such incident.Like past when a child could be left at home assuming safe..it does not remain the same today....he has access to smartphones....he has access to tablets...internet via so many means.Even basic forensic knowledge possessed by the parents is bound to fail if the same is happening in Cloud rather then on the machine at home...

4.   Its time for the parents to equip themselves with the tools and knowledge required to monitor and watch the kids...also realizing that today's kids are more smarter in terms of grabbing the technology then ever....if you have reached reading till here...u must read the complete story here

FBI : A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety

A must read guide from  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), an agency of the United States Department of Justice for all the parents in the world, advising & trying to make them understand the complexities of online child exploitation.....please click HERE