Parenting On Social Media

Parenting on social media! It's hard enough being a parent in real life. The thought occurred to me during one of our meals over the weekend, when my eldest daughter, Jordan brought up the Internet. What I didn't realise up until then is that I feature as a specific Google searche for her.

She has a habit of diligently searching my name, and then going as far as reading my blog.I joked with all of them that she is great for my click through rate, given her curiosity. According to her, it all starts by her being on my Google+ profile (that's the result she gravitates to after searching my name and getting the results). Jordan loves reading, so I shouldn't be surprised that she would read my blog. To have read so many of my posts, and find them interesting enough to want to discuss them, did leave me intrigued.

I then proceeded to tell her my views on social media and how I perceive people's actions and shares on Facebook,  Twitter, tumblr and Instagram. I had nothing to hide from Jordan, in terms of my social media behaviour. It did however occur to me that the very behaviour I was trying to make her aware of, particularly the twitter rants, was not necessarily done by kids. These people were adults,  with young kids who are growing up, and these kids will soon be searching the Internet like Jordan. What example are you setting for your children through your behaviour on social media?

All this time, I have been more concerned about kids not realising the footprint they leave behind (and in turn the impression they create) when they do crazy things and share a picture or say outrageous attention seeking things that alienate people. I did not think parents needed to be factored, but the damage here could be more than just career limiting if you are an adult. We are not in an era where you can say "do as I say, not as I do" anymore. So parenting today has us left with leading by example that stretches a little bit further than our parents had responsibility for raising us.