Online and Overexposed?

I have vivid childhood memories of my parents always trying to embarrass me. At the time I was sure it was for their own entertainment, but now I realize that it was mostly in good fun or that there was really nothing embarrassing about the situation – maybe just weird. Not everyone brings a six-foot inflatable skeleton to their child’s soccer game and sits them in the bleachers like one more adoring fan. And not everyone hits the main “drag” in Texarkana to cruise in their minivan with the windows down and blaring “Heard it Through the Grapevine.” But everyone at some point must rely on their parents or an adult for a ride before getting a drivers license. So I still don’t know why I cursed my parents for that and made them drop me off at the grocery store – 200 yards away from the movie theater where I was meeting my friends.

So will I do it to my kids? According to a recent article in

Newsweek, I already am. This morning I read an editorial called “Stealing Neverland,” which suggests that children are unknowingly being showcased and, therefore sometimes embarrassed, via the vast array of social media tools. From Facebook to blogs, the author argues that parents are sharing pictures and stories at their kid’s expense and not thinking of the repercussions or effects later in life. She even uses the words “self-serving” and “betrayal.”

The timing of the article is amazing since just last night I was in a great debate in my mind on whether or not I should post the picture of Avery sitting naked among a giant pile of clothes. I studied every angle to make sure nothing was too revealing and considered every possible response by naysayers – I could attract sex offenders, I could be arrested for child porn, she could be teased by her peers (which would require Hayden, Siena, Tucker or Leif to peek over their mom’s shoulder while she's reading my blog) or she could be embarrassed later in life when the picture appears in a video montage at her rehearsal dinner – oh wait, that happens anyway!

What is odd is that I opted to put the photo on my blog (which is probably more public, but lesser known), and not on Facebook. Although folks invited me to be their FB friend, I am guessing they were not inviting me to send photos of my children in the buff at will. Something did seem more invasive and exploitative about it for both Avery and my 200 closest, virtual contacts.

But overall, I do see the article as a warning to be mindful what you document online, and I will admit some folks may go overboard in what they share about their kids. I am hoping – and keep me honest if I am not – that my status posts, photos and stories only highlight my own faults, not my kids’ weakness, and through it all I am really laughing with them and at myself.