A handful of content creators that I follow have recently had babies which has sparked more conversation around showing your children online or not. I listened to Jess and Gabe Conte’s podcast, So Far So Good, the other day and the whole topic of conversation was on the reasons they don’t share their daughter online.
Now, I don’t have a super large following on Instagram and YouTube so I’ve never really questioned showing my kids. They’re a main part of my life, so I want to share them. But, one thing this podcast enlightened me on was the idea that there are people out there with very, very wrong intentions when it comes to children. I learned that no ‘Kid Specific YouTube channel’ is allowed to have comments due to what certain people were saying and doing in those comment boards years back. And it’s absolutely awful & disgusting. And I want no part in that for my children.
So, I started thinking. Do I really need anyone and everyone to see everything I post? And the answer was, “no.” So, here are the simple changes I made to my Instagram:
Made my account private.
This is a simple adjustment that basically means that people cannot see more than your profile pic and bio unless you accept their request to follow you. So, it’s easier to only let people follow you who you’re comfortable with seeing everything with your life, kids, and family.
Deleted Followers.
I went through every name on the list of people who follow me and deleted over 300. Now, you might be wondering why I did that. Yes- it does make me have less followers. But, at the end of the day, that’s not what matters, and I’ve decided that having more privacy for my kids and curating who can see what is more beneficial than having a higher following.
Narrowed down my Following.
I also went through all the accounts & people I follow (something I do fairly regularly) and unfollowed accounts that I don’t need to be following or have no interest in following anymore. The less accounts I follow, the less time I’ll be on social media catching up on all these accounts. It’s that simple.
Now, I do realize there are a lot of benefits to social media, but these are some simple changes I’ve made, and I think the long-term effects will be plentiful for me and my family.
Tia Marie
tia marie 