Raising another human is no small feat. There are the diaper changes and feedings when they are infants which turns into activities and stimulation as toddlers. And then they go off to childcare and, later, school. The months or years of caring for your child now shift to allowing other people to care for them and help them grow into conscious humans.
And that’s the extremely simplified sketch. Now, add in the people they’ll interact with, the television shows and media they may be exposed to, the questions they’ll begin to ask…talk about potentially stressful situations! Today, in the digital age, there is an entirely other aspect of parenting: what gets shared and to whom, ways to leverage social networking for your own benefit as a parent, and, ultimately, keeping your kids safe in the digital world. We’re not saying don’t share anything online, rather, ask yourself some questions to be more aware of how you’re showing up online.
Who are you connected with?
Depending on the social network site, you could have anywhere from 100 friends to thousands of friends. Do you really know every single person? Better yet, do you actually want to be connected to every person? Just because you met someone once and they sent you a friend request, that doesn’t mean you have to accept it and continue to see their posts until the end of eternity. Similarly, there’s no obligation to stay connected to a relative you see once a year but don’t have anything in common with.
What are your privacy settings?
Once you’ve assessed who you’re connected to, check those privacy settings! If your privacy settings are virtually non-existent, it won’t matter who you’re connected to because anyone will be able to see your posts and activity. And for parents who like to share updates about their family and children, this could be harmful. Alternatively, having setting your privacy to lock everything down is ineffective, too. Find that middle ground so your profile is private to external people and open to the people you’re connected to. Even within those settings, the access levels should be adjusted so everyone isn’t seeing everything.
Does everything really need to be shared online?
And finally, the ultimate question: do you really need to share everything on your social networks? If the answer is yes, that’s absolutely okay! And if you’re not sure about the answer, that’s okay, too. We’re not here to tell you what to post or how often. We are here to create a space for you to build stronger communities and have more intentional connections.
Answering these questions is essential to keeping yourself and your family safe on social networks. There are other options, too. The Go2s social network is built to make your communities stronger and your conversations more intentional.