晒娃的危害

By+Adrienne+Lafrance

Babies， like cats， are everywhere on the web.

In the United States， the vast majority of two-year-olds—more than 90 percent of them—already have an online presence. More than 80 percent of babies younger than that are already on social media， too. Many children make their internet debut as grainy gray blobs on Facebook-posted ultrasound images before theyre even born.2

Sometime past toddlerhood， these kids might become aware that their online identities are already being shaped in some depth， and usually by their parents.3 Given the searchable， shareable， long-lasting nature of whats published on the web， this dual role of parent and publisher raises a host of questions about privacy， consent， and the parent-child relationship more broadly.4

As a result， researchers， pediatricians， and other childrens advocates are in the early stages of designing a public-health campaign to draw attention to what they say is an inherent conflict between a parents freedom to publish and a childs right to privacy.5

“Its very rare that parents are sharing maliciously， but they havent considered the potential reach or longevity of what is happening with the information theyre posting，”6 says S tacey Steinberg， a law professor at the University of Floridas Levin College of Law and the associate director of the schools Center on Children and Families.

Its typical for adults to mention a childs name and birthdate in birth announcements and other posts on sites like Facebook and Instagram， for instance， which puts kids at risk of identity theft and digital kidnapping—when someone lifts images of another persons kids and portrays them as their own.7 Some parents publish real-time information about their childrens whereabouts8， potentially risking their safety. And well-meaning adults readily go online to share photos of their kids in a variety of intimate settings.9

Steinberg writes in her new paper of a blogger who posted photos of her young twins while they were potty training10. “She later learned that strangers accessed the photos， downloaded them， altered them， and shared them on a website commonly used by pedophiles，”11 Steinberg wrote. “This mother warns other parents not to post pictures of children in any state of undress12， to use Googles search features to find any images shared online， and to reconsider their interest in mommy blogging.”

But even posting baby photos to a private Facebook group or protected Instagram account is not without risk. “With private groups， there is this false sense that everybody in the group knows each other and has the same interests in mind，” Steinberg said.

Parents and caregivers dont just have to trust that the people they choose to share with wont download， redistribute， or otherwise misuse images—they also have to trust that the people who can access shared baby photos have their own robust privacy settings， and that they control who else can use their social media accounts， and so on.13 Many parents believe privacy settings are enough of a safety net， Steinberg wrote， so “they use little discretion sharing with their chosen audience.14 In reality， even these posts can reach a large audience.”

The implications of all this sharing extend far beyond questions of security， and get at the heart of a new paradigm in parenting.15 Caregivers are no longer merely gatekeepers16 for their children but also， in many cases， potentially the distributors of information about their children to mass audiences. There are clear benefits to all this sharing—for families and friends who are geographically dispersed， and for parents who share details about their childrens lives to seek advice from trusted friends， for example—but this new model can also pose a threat to a childs sense of autonomy over his developing identity.17

Parents make value-based choices for their children all the time.They often tell their kids what to believe or which football team to root for18. There is no “bright line” that dictates when and how its appropriate for parents to express themselves through their children.19 Yet when identity-shaping decisions—made by parents， then distributed online in ways that ultimately remove parental control—are digitally preserved for years or longer， such decisions potentially get in the way of a childs selfactualization.20

Childrens advocates argue that kids have a moral right to control their own digital footprint， and perhaps even a legal right. Giving children the right to say“no， its not okay for you to post that”—regarding images and quotes，21 as well as descriptions of their accomplishments and challenges—is something Steinberg says she feels especially strongly about. “By age four， children have an awareness of their sense of self，” she writes. “At this young age， they are able to build friendships， have the ability to reason22， and begin to compare themselves with others. Parents who post regularly can talk about the internet with their children and should ask young children if they want friends and family to know about the subject matter being shared.”

Children benefit from being “heard and understood，” she says， but it seems likely that such conversations would also encourage children to think critically23 about how online sharing might affect them. Developing this line of thinking from an early age prepares children to manage their own behaviors online as they grow—and its a more nuanced way of thinking about online publishing than teaching kids to never share anything whatsoever.24

“This first generation of children who grew up on social media are coming of age25， and theyre just now entering adulthood and the job market，” Steinberg added. “It would be wise of us to invite them to the table as childrens rights advocates as we talk about the best way to move forward.”

1. peril： 危险，险事；sharenting： 即share+ parenting，指父母勤于将孩子的动态和照片分享到社交网络的行为。

2. 有很多小孩的互联网首秀甚至是在他们出生之前——那时他们只是脸书上晒出的超声波图片，是一团不成形的颗粒物。debut：（于社交场合等的）首次露面，首次出现；grainy：（照片、胶片等）不清晰的，有颗粒的；blob：（形状）不清晰的物体；ultrasound： 超声波检查。

3. toddlerhood： 儿童学步期；identity： 身份，特性；in depth： 全面地，深入地。

4. 鉴于网上发布的信息具有可搜索、可分享和存时长等特性，父母兼信息发布者的这种双重身份更广泛地引发了大量关于隐私、许可及亲子关系的问题。dual： 双重的；a host of： 大量；consent： 赞同，准许。

5. 因此，研究人员、儿科医生以及儿童权益维护者们率先发起了一个公共健康运动，旨在引起人们对父母随意发布信息与孩子隐私权之间的内在冲突予以关注。pediatrician： 儿科医师；advocate： 拥护者，支持者；inherent： 内在的，固有的。

6. 很少有父母是出于恶意而分享，但他们却没考虑到信息分享后所引发问题的波及范围或持续时间。maliciously： 恶意地；longevity： 寿命。

7. digital kidnapping： 电子绑架，这一现象就是下面描述的情况：某些人盗取他人孩子的照片，然后上传，并说成是自己的孩子；lift：偷盗；portray： 描绘。

8. whereabouts： 行踪，去向。

9. well-meaning： 善意的；readily：轻易地，迅速地；setting： 环境，场合。

10. potty training： 如厕训练。

11. alter： 修改；pedophile： 恋童癖者。

12. undress： 赤身裸体。

13. 家长和看护者不仅要确保他们的分享对象不会下载、散布或者滥用照片，还要确保那些能看到孩子照片分享的人自己的隐私设置也很安全，并且对谁能使用自己的账号熟稔于心等等。redistribute： 再分配；robust： 健壮的，健全的。

14. safety net： 安全保障；discretion： 谨慎。

15. implication： 可能的影响（或作用、结果）；paradigm： 典范，范例。

16. gatekeeper： 看门人，指看护者，把关人。

17. geographically： 在地理上；disperse：分散；autonomy： 自主权。

18. root for： 支持。

19. 并没有明确的界限规定家长何时以及以何种途径借子女表达自我才是合适的。dictate： 规定。

20. 但是那些关乎到孩子个体养成的决定——由父母做出，然后发到网上，直到最终失去控制——会在网上保存数年甚至更久，而这些决定有可能阻碍孩子实现自我价值。get in the way of： 妨碍，阻碍；self-actualization： 自我实现。

21. regarding： 關于；quote： 引用，引述。

22. reason： v. 思考，理解。

23. critically： 批判性地。

24. 早期培养这种思维方式可以让孩子随着年龄的增长管理自己的网络行为——相比告诉孩子什么都不要分享，更加微妙的方法是让孩子去思考互联网分享。line：（说话或思维的）方式，方法；nuanced： 微妙的；whatsoever： 任何，丝毫（加强否定语气）。

25. come of age： 成年，长大成人。