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For many of us, taking photos to share on social media is natural. Many of us have been using apps like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for over a decade now, and it's a great way to connect with friends and family we may not be able to see in person (not to mention all the positive vibes we get when they're cheering us on from afar!).
But if you're pregnant, you might be especially aware of your social media presence these days. Are you going to share bump photos? What about pictures of your baby as soon as they're born? And what about their childhood that comes after? Social media privacy concerns are real, and definitely worth considering before your baby-to-be arrives.
Pregnancy is a great time to reevaluate the rules you set for yourself on these apps — and it all goes way beyond deciding on ways to announce pregnancy on social media. What you share will impact your future baby, your family and your partner, too, so it's important to be thoughtful in how you proceed.
Setting boundaries: How much social media is too much?
Now that you're pregnant, it's time to ask yourself some hard questions about what you're willing to share on social media when it comes to your body and your future baby. As much fun as it is to keep friends updated on our lives, the problem with social media is that we need to remember that nothing we post is truly private, and nothing that we delete is truly gone from the internet forever.
If and how you share your pregnancy on sites like Facebook and Instagram is totally up to you, but it's a good time to start having discussions about how you want to move forward with your partner. It's a good idea to decide together how much you want to share of this part of your lives and be on the same page.
If you do decide to share your pregnancy, it's a good time to check on those privacy settings. Apps like Facebook often give you a way to see your profile as if you were a stranger so that you're able to control what the world (and search engines) can see about you and your family online.
Pros and cons of social media
There are a lot of pros and cons of social media, and it's important to consider them both when deciding how much of your pregnancy and your baby's life you want to share with your circle.
There are obvious pros, like:
- Being able to document your life and your thoughts
- Sharing this time with friends and family who may be far away or that you're unable to see because of the pandemic
- The positive feelings that come with sharing a post
- The ability to ask questions and get support from people in your life
- Finding groups of other moms who are going through the same thing you are
But then, there are the cons, like:
- Opening yourself up to unwanted opinions
- Mental health ramifications of viewing others' highlight reel
- Giving up some of your and your child's privacy
- The dangerous side of social media, like digital kidnapping, where people you don't know will steal your child's photos to pass off as their own
It's also worth thinking about what your child will think about what you've shared of them online when they're older.
“It can be very lonely if you’ve been with the kids all day, and putting pictures online is a way of connecting with other adults, but I do think parents need to keep in mind how those children will feel in the future," parenting expert and psychologist Genevieve von Lob told The Guardian. "Will they feel ashamed, embarrassed, anxious, annoyed? Will your kids feel empowered enough to say: ‘I don’t feel happy about you putting this online’? You could affect your future relationship with your children if you haven’t asked their permission.”
Are you sharing too much on social media?
If you're reconsidering your social media habits, you might be wondering how much social media is too much. In this case, sometimes less is more, especially when it comes to sharing about your pregnancy and your future baby, and when in doubt, don't post.
"As much as I love the likes, retweets and shares that a photo gets, or the viral potential a video might have, I want to be sure I won’t have to apologize for my actions later on," mom Kristen Chase wrote for Mom.com. "Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a perfect parent, and I’m quite certain I’ll have a few things to make up for when my kids get older."
Social media is an awesome tool when we use it correctly. Like all things in life, moderation is definitely key — and remember the joy of keeping certain moments in your motherhood journey just between you and your partner.
