Why Illinois Parents Are Rethinking Posting Their Kids on Social Media

I think more parents are starting to look at social media differently.

I don't have kids myself, but I am an aunt, and I have a lot of friends who are parents.  One thing I've noticed is that many of them are very intentional about how much of their children they put online.  Some avoid posting their kids' faces altogether, while others choose to wait until their children reach a certain age before making those pictures public.

And I don't blame them one bit.

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We live in a time when a picture can be copied, saved and shared far beyond the audience a parent originally intended.  There are also growing concerns about children being targeted by people who use social media and other online platforms to manipulate or exploit them.  Those concerns feels even more relevant right now, as Illinois and other states take a closer look at how social media companies protect children.

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Illinois recently enacted the Children's Social Media Safety Act, which includes stronger privacy protections for minors and restrictions on some of the algorithms and features designed to keep kids engaged and glued to their screens.  The law also requires platforms to use age information and provide protections such as limiting precise location sharing and nighttime notifications.

And just last week, Meta agree to a multistate settlement that includes major new safety measures for young users on Instagram and Facebook following allegations that the platforms were designed to keep children addicted and that the company mishandled children's data.

All of that makes me wonder if parents are just becoming more protective of their children's digital identities, too.

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There's nothing wrong with being proud of your kids and wanting to share those adorable photos of them online!  I completely understand why parents do it, but I also understand the parents who say, "My child didn't consent to having their face on the internet."

There's no wrong or right answer for every family, but I do think it's worth asking ourselves what we're putting online about children who are too young to make decisions for themselves.