Social media, baby pictures, and the loss of privacy

Apparently, an Australien mother was told off by her friends for drowning their newsfeed with her baby's photos.

On the one hand, I stand with the mother's right to post whatever she pleases on Facebook. That is the beauty of social media: the freedom to express ourselves (as long as we don't promote hate or illegal activities, but that's another topic). I am pretty sure some of my friends get bored with the constant stream of articles on social justice and/or theology I keep posting. They always have the option to turn off notifications from my profile if it really annoys them, after all.

On the other hand, personally, I wouldn't want to post my child's pictures on Facebook (if I had a child) for several reasons.

1. All pictures you post to Facebook no longer belong to you, but to Facebook. Whilst I don't mind too much about pictures of myself no longer being mine, I would object to pictures of my child becoming property of a big corporation.

2. Privacy, part one: no matter how high my privacy settings are, there is always a chance that someone I don't know will see pictures of my child. And that unknown person could be harmless... or not.

3. Privacy, part two: once posted online, anyone on my friends' list (or not on my friends' list, depending on privacy settings or dangers of hacking, etc) could potentially share my child's pictures. I don't like the idea of my child's pictures floating around somewhere in the dark world of the internet.

4. Privacy, part three: I have come to terms with the fact that anything I post online is no longer private as such, but public - out there for all the world to see and read. I accept that as part and parcel of the joy of staying in touch with friends overseas and sharing ideas with people all over the globe. If it concerns only me and my own image, fine. But I don't want to plaster my child's face all over Facebook before he or she is even old enough to understand this, let alone consent to it. Remember when you begged your Mum not to show your first girlfriend/boyfriend those embarrassing baby pictures in the family album? Imagine if those embarrassing photos had been there for all of Mum's 426 friends to see, share and comment. Awakward, much? Not sure my kids would appreciate having about as little privacy as a pop star when they grow up.

Everyone needs their secret garden; everyone should be able to choose what they keep to themselves and what they make public, including photos.