{"id":2213445,"date":"2024-07-24T13:06:04","date_gmt":"2024-07-24T20:06:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/?p=2213445"},"modified":"2024-07-26T12:41:21","modified_gmt":"2024-07-26T19:41:21","slug":"social-media-privacy-kids-photos-instagram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/social-media-privacy-kids-photos-instagram\/","title":{"rendered":"My Insta \u201cFriends\u201d Are Mostly Strangers Now\u2014and As a Mom, It\u2019s Weirding Me Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

Flowerstars333* isn\u2019t really<\/em> a stranger.<\/p>\n

Back when my husband and I were dating, one of his good friends was seeing her\u2014a cool girl whose name I can\u2019t quite remember. The four of us went on a handful of double dates, and she and I chatted breezily during group hangs. Eventually, she attended our wedding as a plus-one; about a year or so later, they broke up.<\/p>\n

But during that brief period when our lives overlapped, I friended her on Insta, as you do. And though I can\u2019t imagine a reason our paths would ever cross again, I never removed her from my digital world. She\u2019s liked plenty of posts of mine over the years\u2014unforgettable moments like my eldest son\u2019s first car ride home from the hospital; the time he rolled himself into a blanket burrito and laughed from inside, like a little maniac; his younger brother\u2019s goofy attempts at toddler yoga; and a family trip where the boys are pleasantly passed out in the backseat after hours spent running around the beach.<\/p>\n

Each moment was so special, but looking back, I\u2019m not sure how I feel that Flowerstars333 has been along for the ride\u2014and she\u2019s hardly alone. A quick scroll through my followers, something I almost never do, reveals dozens of acquaintances, friends of friends, co-workers from eons ago, a few more once-significant others, and people I can\u2019t quite place but surely friended for a good reason at some point in my life\u2026 right? Probably? Let\u2019s be honest: At one point or another, who didn\u2019t freely \u201caccept\u201d people they met who seemed fun and nice? It all seemed pretty low risk.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just my life anymore. It\u2019s my kids\u2019. Did I do a deep clean to clear the digital party-goers of my past from my current roster? Yep. But there\u2019ve been years of posts up until now\u2014birthdays, park visits, milestones, family get-togethers\u2014all featuring my sons, who never knew they had an audience (and didn\u2019t agree to one<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Not too long ago, we didn\u2019t think about privacy nearly as much. I had a \u201cprivate\u201d social media account, and to be honest, that seemed responsible enough. I wish I would have had the foresight to keep my circle tight, to rely on a private photo-sharing app like Tinybeans<\/a> (which a number of friends of mine have used from day one). I\u2019m a late\u2014if regretful\u2014convert, and I\u2019m relieved to know exactly who\u2019s got eyes on the most important people in my life.<\/p>\n

As for Flowerstars333, it\u2019s not that I suspect she has bad intentions. Leslie (it took me a while, but I got there!) still seems lovely\u2014and she even has a family of her own these days. But when I sit with it, I can\u2019t help but think: Who were all those other people, really?<\/em><\/p>\n

For anyone looking to share moments with those who matter most (and no one else), learn about and\u00a0download the Tinybeans app here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

*Username changed to protect privacy<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“My kids didn\u2019t sign on to have all my past acquaintances watch them grow up.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187728429,"featured_media":2213452,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"city":[551419385],"ml_tag_age":[700852499],"ml_tag_interest":[700852521,700852932,700852740],"ml_tag_season":[700852448],"ml_tag_holiday":[700852449],"class_list":["post-2213445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tinybeans-app","category-tinybeans-news-and-stories","city-national","ml_tag_age-adults","ml_tag_interest-after-hours","ml_tag_interest-digital-world","ml_tag_interest-social-media","ml_tag_season-all-seasons","ml_tag_holiday-non-holiday"],"yoast_head":"\nMy Insta 'Friends' Are Strangers Now, and As a Mom It\u2019s Weird<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There\u2019ve been 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