It’s that time of the year again — when elementary school children dress up in their most festive outfits and take the stage to sing their little hearts out or play an off-key version of “Jingle Bells” on their violins. Still, their parents could not be more proud and understandably want video evidence of their child’s unforgettable performance.
While parents certainly have the right to record their children’s school events, one mother advised them to keep the footage offline.
The mom urged parents not to post videos of their children’s holiday concerts on social media.
“If you are at your child’s Christmas concert this year, that’s great! Film, take pictures, and have a great time!” mom and content creator Sarah Adams said. “But don’t upload the footage publicly online.”
Adams is known as @mom.uncharted online where she posts about prioritizing children’s right to digital privacy and safety. Not posting footage of children’s school events online is one way she says parents can do just that.
“Not all of us want our children circulating on the internet. Not all of us want strangers knowing where they go to school,” she stressed. “It’s an issue of privacy and consent.”
Instead, Adams suggested sending the cute videos directly to the grandparents via text or email.
As the concerned mom noted, this is a matter of child safety.
While you might not think twice about posting a cute video of your child and their classmates singing on stage, many parents do not want their kids on social media at all — even if they’re just in the background of your Facebook post.
Parents have the right to control their young children’s online presence. Regardless of your personal position, no one has the right to post other people’s children without their parents’ consent.
What seems harmless to one person might be a serious concern for another.
Parents may assume that posting their child’s winter concert will have their followers “awwing” and “ahhing,” but a child predator who lurks online will interpret the footage in a whole different and horrifying way.
MR.Yanukit | Shutterstock
Some commenters highlighted the risks associated with sharing children’s identities online, emphasizing the potential dangers it poses to their safety and privacy.
“There are foster children at my school and some of them have birth parents who are not supposed to know their whereabouts,” one user wrote.
“It’s so UNSAFE! Imagine if they were running from a violent/abusive person?” another commenter added.
“I worry about this so much. My son has three band concerts a year and we’re in hiding from my ex-husband for our safety,” a third user shared. “I’m so scared he’s going to see a video and find us.”
So, to best protect your children, who are too young to fully comprehend the perils of social media, save videos of them singing and playing instruments to holiday tunes for the family group chat!
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.
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