A digital footprint aka shadow is the trail left behind when
interacting with the internet via posts, pictures, videos and so on. We
create personal data with almost our every movement in our interconnected world.
Do you know how big yours is? Have you ever given it any
thought? Search for yourself and see what comes up. They say the internet is
forever...
Eric Schmidt, Google executive chairman, warned recently that "teenagers
can no longer grow up without being reminded of their mistakes because a full
record of their lives is now stored on the internet." He also suggested that
some people’s sharing of personal information online had gone too far, saying
parents to be who post ultrasounds of their babies online before even naming
them took things to “overwhelmingly excessive levels.” Do you agree?
Today's parents are increasingly building digital footprints for their children prior to and from the moment they are born. Some (startling) stats from AVG’s 2010 study:
- In the US, 92 percent of children have an online presence by the time they are two compared to 73 percent of children in the EU5.
- The average digital birth of children happens at around six months with a third (33%) of children’s photos and information posted online within weeks of being born. In the UK, 37 percent of newborns have an online life from birth, whereas in Australia and New Zealand the figure is 41 percent.
- Almost a quarter (23%) of children begin their digital lives when parents upload their prenatal sonogram scans to the Internet. This figure is higher in the US, where 34 percent have posted sonograms online, while in Canada the figure is even higher at 37 percent. Fewer parents share sonograms of their children in France (13%), Italy (14%) and Germany (15%). Likewise only 14 percent of parents share these online in Japan.
- Seven percent of babies and toddlers have an email address created for them by their parents, and five percent have a social network profile.
These kids will never have a shoe box full of photos to flip
back through and every mortifying moment could possibly be broadcast to the
world thanks to a parent’s status update.
Sources:
Wow that's some shocking information to take in...I personally see no sense in babies and toddlers having their own personal email and social networking accounts (can they even write up and send a proper email? what about age restrictions and having parent's permission to access sites?) I just don't understand even if it is just a joke.
ReplyDeleteI do think it's pretty normal for a family to want to share pictures of their new family with their friends and relatives online, but I hope that they would also like to keep a hard copy scrapbook of key moments in their little one's life.
Yes, that whole statistic about creating your kid and email/social networking profile was crazy. I can't imagine doing that! Some people have been debating should social networks have a children's version since more and more kids are on them. Thanks for the comment!
DeleteI have several friends on Facebook that create profiles for their infants and post anything and everything about their children. I love the occasional funny story and adorable pictures, but overwhelming the news feed is not acceptable. It is annoying more than anything. I don't want to know what your child ate or when their diaper was changed.
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for these kids that have no say in what their parents post about them online. I, too, would rather have my secrets hidden in a shoe box under the bed and no one ever see them!
The scary part is some of those posts could come back to haunt the kid later if the parents aren't careful with their privacy settings! Thanks for the comment!
DeleteIt's amazing the impact that a digital footprint will have on history. Could you imagine being able to check out Napoleon's Facebook profile if it were available then? This will change the way is history is viewed! Future historical figures will no longer have the "fog of history" that only shows their greatest achievements. I imagine their entire could potentially dissected through what was viewed through the Internet...
ReplyDeleteWow, I never thought of it like that. It would be pretty cool to see Napoleon's page. Do you think Napoleon would post selfies or what he was eating for breakfast? Haha :)
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