Thoughts On Raising Wee-Warriors
Once upon a time, the only family movies we saw were those of our own. As to what other families did behind closed doors, we could only speculate. Curiosity was typically tempered by assumptions and asking those around us.
Nowadays, if I was so inclined, I could sit and watch the birthday party of a two year old living hundreds of miles away. A two year with whom I have absolutely no connection. I could also watch their older sibling make their first trip to the dentist. Or even see the entire family go to the beach. All thanks to online social media.
Since the advent of YouTube, there has been a steady rise of online celebrities and ‘social media influencers’. This is all well and good, if said individuals are adults who consent to having their lives online. But when these exhibitionists procreate and start to introduce their progeny to the world, they step into the realm of exploitation.
It is not normal for a two year old to have an entire circus come to their party. Nor is it typical for them to have a three tiered cake, or catering staff dressed as Disney characters. Children watching from home, of course, are in awe. They are devouring these videos. Liking these videos. Creating a false understanding of what is normal, and in the meantime, bumping the number of subscribers and views up into the millions. And these influencers, knowing they need to continuously post to maintain a stream of viewers, and income, are placing more and more of their children’s lives online.
But one day, these children will grow up. And they will come to a realisation. A realisation that their parents have paraded their childhood in front of millions of strangers. That they didn’t create these movies to record special memories for the family, but rather to maintain their online popularity. To keep ‘the fans’ happy. Fans they do not even know.
Creeps have access to social media too.
The parents are not fully present in these recorded moments either. Providing commentary to the video, and ensuring everyone looks good often takes precedence. The LaBrant Family posted their children’s births online. Each amassing more than 1.5 million views. These should have been intimate affairs. (Noticeably, mum’s hair and makeup were flawless the entire time. Another unrealistic expectation for young viewers to adopt).
In another household, Familia Diamond has a video showing them caring for their son after falling off his scooter. I don’t know about you, but I would rather my parents just care for me than make sure it is all captured and posted online. No matter how doting they are on camera, they are still on camera. And who wants the whole world to see them not at their best?
A baby cannot consent to growing up online. A child does not understand what they are consenting to – even if they say ‘yes’. And once they have the realisation, and they determine they did not ask for a life recorded online, then what? Can they sue for parental malpractice?
Some parents will argue that they do not need permission from their children to post their lives online. That they aren’t posting anything embarrassing. But whose definition of embarrassing is it? Once images are online, they stay online forever. You may try to ‘remove’ them, but they are still archived in the world wide web. In an age of face recognition and deepfakes, we want less, not more of our selves online.
Children have a right to privacy, and as parents, we need to safeguard that privacy.
Rant over.
The Warrior-Womxn's Guild 