Monday, March 30, 2015
Some of social media’s greatest stars aren’t even old enough to tweet. More than half of mothers and a third of fathers discuss child health and parenting on social media, adding to the growing segment of parents online dubbed “sharents,” according to the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.“By the time children are old enough to use social media themselves many already have a digital identity created for them by their parents,” says Sarah J. Clark, M.P.H., associate director of the Mott Poll. But how far is too far when it comes to crossing the boundaries between public and private life?
“On one hand, social media offers today’s parents an outlet they find incredibly useful. On the other hand, some are concerned that over-sharing may pose safety and privacy risks for their children,” says Clark.
When sharing parenting advice on social media, common topics included getting kids to sleep (28 percent), nutrition and eating tips (26 percent), discipline (19 percent), daycare/preschool (17 percent) and behavior problems (13 percent), according to the Mott poll that surveyed a national sample of parents of children aged 0-4. Nearly 70 percent of parents said they use social media to get advice from other more experienced parents and 62 percent said it helped them worry less.
However, parents also recognized potential pitfalls of sharing information about their children, with nearly two-thirds concerned someone would learn private information about their child or share photos of their child. More than half also worried that when older, their child may be embarrassed by what was shared.
Three-quarters of parents polled pointed to “over-sharenting” by another parent, including parents who shared embarrassing stories.
Source: MottChildren.org
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