?; .vz.laX,,sVam zOP,K.E/ ?mXK,M.XUV8UK
That is what my 4 month old daughter typed into the computer when I put her down in front of the keyboard. I know that she didn’t know what she was typing but I cant help but feel that she’s trying to imitate us. That she sees mommy and daddy pecking away at this “thing” with such speed and accuracy that it must baffle her mind. But it really got me thinking about what I have to do when raising my daughter that no other generation had to worry about. I’m of course talking about raising your kid in the age of technology and geeks.
So Diane and I have Facebook accounts and I’m never sure what to think about posting photos and articles about my daughter on there. I can’t help but think that we’re slowly writing a book about her and one day she’ll look back and read it. If you think about it, Facebook allows you to tag photos with people’s name so I’m only guessing one day my little one will create a Facebook account and bam! Instant baby photo album along who knows what else.
Of course this hypothetical future takes into account many different things such as Facebook lasting more then 10 years, human beings not killing ourselves and our continual fascination with photos and archiving history. While I can say with confidence that one of these items will be true, I’m not sure about the other ones.
Now, this whole thought may not blow your mind like it did mine but allow me to talk about it a bit further. As I discussed this topic with Diane yesterday, she pointed out that there wasn’t much difference between us posting photos on Facebook and our parents creating photo albums of our younger years. While I agree on principal, there is a huge difference on the level of technology.
With Facebook, it’s archive as long as machines still exist to hold the information. It’s easily accessible so anyone can view it at anytime and it’s searchable. Now let me put that into some context and steel your mind for this one.
It’s not an uncommon practice for potential employers to Google your name before hiring you now a days. It’s so important that people will spend a good part of job searching just creating the best search results for their name. Granted, we can not control the situation, but we can influence. Now, fast forward 18 years and my daughter is applying for her real job. It’s not her ultimate gig but it’s something she’s really interested in. When her potential employers Google her name, Diane and I will have had 19 years of baby photos, stories and what not posted into the internet and the chances of those searches rising to the top first is huge. How does that make her look? Will it be so common in 10 years that all parents post photos online that it’s nothing new or will they see the photos and think “what a cute baby, clearly she’s not the women for this job because she’s just a baby.”
Ok, I realize that got a little silly in the end, but you’re getting what I’m saying, right? Diane and I are creating an online baby book for our daughter that’s open to the world in one way or another and it’s just out there! Am I the only person who’s thinking about this? I mean, I take great pains in never actually saying my daughters name in an attempt to keep her life private until she wants to change it. I don’t want to force an internet persona on her but I feel a bit hypocritical at the same time. On my blog, my daughter is simply that, an adjective and not a noun but on Facebook, she has a name, a face, she’s a real person who people can see.
So I’ll close with another example of how this is bugging me. Lets say my daughter becomes famous one day. Now, the media loves celeberties, so will those baby pictures become the headline photos when the Facebook account is finally cracked? Will I be the main reason that everyone knows what my girl looks like when she was 8 months old after she becomes a famous star? While I know the facts would eventually come out, most people can hide those moments because they are kept on a physical picture, something someone would have to steal in order to get. Not on the net. Nope, it’s just a simple click and it’s done.
Well, as Diane said, maybe I’m just over thinking it. Who really knows until it’s too late? But I have to ask, how do you deal with it? Do you post pictures and not care or do you silently worry about it? Come on readers, help a guy out!
I know some moms who have blogs that are all about their families (which is a complete snooze fest) and there are children photos everywhere doing anything possible.
It seems to me like parents today (and the 30+ generation) have become even more obsessive with their children, and more overly protective too, and that could be because of a multitude of reasons (though I look at cell phones and the internet as something to blame).
Anyways the other day my english professor (mind hes only in his early 30s or so) was talking about how when he was a child his parents didn’t have to know where he was at all times of the day and he didn’t have to check in with them all the time like he notices todays generation does. He would just go play outside for hours and be back by dinner. Its a whole new level of keeping and eye on children.
That doesn’t have much to do with what you were talking about, but back to the the moms with their family blogs. I would absolutely be mortified if mom had a blog with all these photos of the family on the internet. I just hope that those moms/parents make the blog entries strictly private only when the children get to an age of use the internet and become an individual than just one of the family (as depicted by these blogs). As for facebook, I suggest the older she gets you take down these photos and archive them somewhere else if you are looking for a place to store them for forever, but in a more private setting.
I wouldn’t worry about it too much. But I have a feeling when these children get older there is a going to be a problem, or maybe by that time it will seem totally normal.
As for me, I’m completely thankful my parents didn’t grow up in an age where everyone believed that had to publish every thought and photo. I suppose this is the dark side of this. If I were to come across this stuff I would be mortified at the time, but maybe when I was in my later years I would appreciate it more. I dont know… its tricky.
Sorry for all the rambling!
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