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Peninsula Kids
Home»Parenting Articles»The dark side of social media and how to tread carefully
Parenting Articles

The dark side of social media and how to tread carefully

Updated:July 14, 20214 Mins Read
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By Andrew Muir, Founder of Momatu

Alarming statistics show that more than 80% of children have an online presence before the age of two, and the average child has almost 1,500 images of them posted online before their fifth birthday –– yikes!

While social media is a wonderful way to share your child’s special moments with friends and family, many parents forget that these people won’t necessarily be the only ones who are privy to them. For this reason, it’s no wonder that experts are increasingly cautioning parents against “sharenting”, a term to describe parents who incessantly share posts and photos of their children to social media.

A recent report by OFCOM in the UK found that while many parents do share images of their children online, 56% of parents don’t. Of these non-sharers, 87% said they actively chose not to in order to protect their child’s privacy. In addition to privacy, common concerns of parents that were cited in the report were the risk of images they posted being used in a sexual nature, or for the purpose of stalking and even kidnapping.

It goes without saying that most people have good intentions when sharing images of their children online. And let’s face it, we all want to celebrate and share our children’s proudest and more precious moments with those closest to us. What we need to keep in mind though is that sharing these on social media means that the hundreds of ‘friends’ (and their friends, and friends of friends) that we’ve accumulated over the years are also often able to view them.

This is not to say that people should stop posting photos of their kids altogether, but rather that they should be aware of the risks in doing so, and take any reasonable step they can to ensure they are protecting their children’s privacy online.

Ways to keep your child safe when sharing online

Be Aware of Your Privacy Settings

Most social media platforms offer custom privacy settings. For any albums or images that include photos of your children, set the privacy setting controls to custom, which allows you to choose the people that can see your photos. At a minimum, always make sure these settings are set to ‘friends’ and not ‘friends of friends’ or ‘public’.

It’s also worth checking regularly that your social media accounts are set to private as app updates and software changes can alter your settings.

Turn off Geolocation Tagging

It’s easy to forget that social media posts often provide indicators that enable viewers to easily identify your location. Platforms including Instagram and Facebook are required by law to ask if you’d like them to use your current location; however if you’re ever prompted with this question and you’re posting a photo of your child, select ‘no’.

Further to this, if revealing your location is a concern, it’s best to avoid posting photos with telling landmarks or identifiable features such as restaurant names in the background.

Lower Your Resolution

Believe it or not, people often pull images of kids from the internet to use in advertising material. By lowering the resolution of the photos you’re posting online, they’re less likely to be able to print or enlarge the images.

Use a Private Photo Sharing App

There are a number of private photo sharing apps that parents can use to keep track of and share their child’s most important memories in a fun and safe way.

Momatu is just one example. It’s a new free private social media platform that was created with the expressed purpose to provide parents with a place to connect, and share their children’s most precious moments, with only those closest to them.

Users of the app can capture, sort and co-create their family’s history into beautiful timelines that can be shared and enjoyed by only the people they’ve invited. And this way parents can post to their heart’s content, and rest assured that they know exactly who is viewing their photos.

Momatu provides parents with their own private space to connect, and share their child’s most precious memories with only those closest to them. It’s a digital timeline app that allows parents to capture and sort their little one’s milestones and moments into sophisticated timelines that can be viewed and interacted with by only those they have invited. Momatu also allows users to design and print their timelines into beautiful, hard-copy photobooks that can be kept and enjoyed for years to come.

Peninsula Kids – Autumn 2019

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Roll up to the PARC County Fair these school holidays 
 
Immerse yourself in a world of entertainment and family fun at the PARC County Fair. Enjoy a splashing good time on PARC’s inflatable obstacle course, Splash Island! With slopes, slides and balancing beams, it is the ultimate water adventure. To book or learn more, visit PARC’s website. 
The PARC County Fair school holiday program will run daily from Monday 22 September – Friday 3 October. Excluding the Grand Final public holiday.

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Roll up to the PARC County Fair these school holidays Immerse yourself in a world of entertainment and family fun at the PARC County Fair. Enjoy a splashing good time on PARC’s inflatable obstacle course, Splash Island! With slopes, slides and balancing beams, it is the ultimate water adventure. To book or learn more, visit PARC’s website. The PARC County Fair school holiday program will run daily from Monday 22 September – Friday 3 October. Excluding the Grand Final public holiday. https://parc.peninsulaleisure.com.au/events/september-school- holidays-parc-county-fair/ @parcfrankston
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Have you seen our spring Things We Love giveaways in the winter edition of Peninsula Kids mag? Nano-Mals Hasbro is excited to introduce Nano-Mals, their brand-new line of interactive, pocket-sized electronic pets that are here to win hearts… literally! The handheld Nano-Mals team the appeal of digital pets with the fun play of fidget toys, creating a sensory experience specifically designed for today’s kids. Measuring just 6.9 cm, Nano-Mals are perfectly pocket-sized with an oversized personality. Nano-Mals are the ultimate gift for kids who love fidget toys, animals, and interactive digital fun. With unlimited ways to care, style, and connect, this new range is set to be the must-have mini pet of the year. These collectibles are available now in major retailers including Big W, Target, and independent toy stores. RRP: $25.00 each **PLEASE NOTE ALL prizes must be collected from Peninsula Kids HASTINGS office. Winners will be notified by email. Please only enter if you can collect and make sure details are entered correctly so you don’t miss out!** 👉ENTER HERE: https://peninsulakids.com.au/spring-2025-things-we-love-giveaway/
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Have you seen our spring Things We Love giveaways in the winter edition of Peninsula Kids mag? Little Jellies Swimwear Assorted – Size 4 Bright. Bold. Bursting with personality. Little Jellies is the new Australian swimwear label on a mission to make water play safer and more joyful for little ones and a little less stressful for parents. The brand is redefining safety-focused swimwear for safe, active summers. Little Jellies caters to children aged 6 months to 6 years. The collection includes baby swimwear, rashies, sun tops, surf suits, mix-and-match separates, and bucket hats—each made with a snug-but-stretchy fit, UPF50+ sun protection, and quick-dry technology. https://www.littlejellies.com.au/ @little.jellies.swim We have a Long sleeve rash shirt in pink, briefs in purple, and yellow surfsuit all size 4 to give away valued at $139.85 **PLEASE NOTE ALL prizes must be collected from Peninsula Kids HASTINGS office. Winners will be notified by email. Please only enter if you can collect and make sure details are entered correctly so you don’t miss out!** 👉ENTER HERE VIA LINK IN BIO
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Get your skates on (or hire some of theirs) and get down to Sk8house in Carrum Downs for good old-fashioned family fun this school holidays. They’re OPEN EVERY DAY with General Sessions, Skate Classes and Birthday Parties, plus by popular demand, they’re also running Sensory Sessions every Friday morning! Find out more: https://www.sk8house.com.au/ @sk8houseau
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