Kids Look for Limits on What Parents Share About Them on Social Media

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on PsychCentral.

A new study finds that children and adolescents would prefer that their parents limit what is shared about them online.

University of Michigan researchers discovered sharing content on soccer games, family vacations, and reports of good grades are OK for social media sharing. Posts with baby photos or references to punishments and significant others — not so much.

The researchers surveyed 331 pairs of parents and children about what personal information parents should and should not share about their children on social media sites. The children described a range of preferences about what parents may disclose about them.

Content that is generally fine to share includes achievements, praise, positive content, special occasions, school activities, good grades, family, sports, hobbies, and family trips.

Things that are not OK include baby photos/stories, pictures of friends/significant others, bad grades, and other content that is embarrassing, personal/private, negative, unflattering, physically revealing or depicts bad behavior or punishments.

“You might expect that children don’t want their parents to share anything about them on social media but that’s not what we found,” said lead author Carol Moser, a doctoral student at University of Michigan’s School of Information.

“Children are OK with their parents posting about certain things, and not just praise for good grades and sports achievements, but also posts that simply reflect a happy home life.”

The study also examined both parent and child perceptions about how much parents share. In other words, do children think their parents over-share and do parents agree?

Contrary to expectations, both parents and children felt that the frequency of parent sharing was “about right.” However, children wanted more say in what is said about them.

The researchers advise parents who wonder when it’s OK to post to simply ask their children.

Children want their parents to ask more than they do, and parents agree that they should seek permission more often. But children say they don’t want their parents to ask all of the time or even most of the time — they just want their parents to ask their permission at least “sometimes.”

“It’s easy to forget that the family and the home are considered private spaces in the U.S. and that family members need to respect one another’s privacy,” said co-author Dr. Sarita Schoenebeck, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Information.

“While teenagers can do things that are charming, funny, frustrating, and sometimes enraging, parents should be thoughtful about whether that is appropriate content for sharing on social media.”

Source: PsychCentral
https://psychcentral.com/news/2017/05/15/kids-push-back-to-parents-limit-content-shared-on-social-media/120565.html