People often ask us why I don’t post pictures of Hadar online. Prior to Hadar’s birth, Ari and I agreed that we would not post pictures of Hadar online. This is a personal decision that Ari and I agreed is best for our family. I am not writing this post in order to judge anyone who posts pictures of their own children online.
Times have changed so much since I was a child and we are forced to make decisions that our parents didn’t have to make. We live in an age where everyone is constantly connected. Nowadays, as soon as a picture is posted, there are “likes” and “shares” which means that all kinds of people can see your pictures. Gone is the protected bubble that we grew up with. Instead of friends, employers, etc doing a Google search to find high school or college photos and/or announcements, they’ll be able to see key moments in the lives of our children.
As a parent, my job is to help my kid(s) learn about G-d, Torah, Mitzvot, and to be a good person. One decision that I don’t get to make for them is how and what their online presence would look like. I would like for them to be able to decide for themselves how they would like to be perceived after careful consideration. Another reason that we made this decision is because we want to protect our kid(s) from being exposed to certain things, for example, the evil eye (Ayin Hara). The evil eye can be as simple as someone making a simple comment comparing your child to theirs. Truthfully, they may not think they are doing any harm with their comment, but they are.
At times I feel that I struggle to find the balance between screen time and using social media. I do my best to limit how much time I spend online especially while my daughter is awake. There are times when I know I use it too much! Don’t we all? At the end of the day, I want to shield and protect my kid(s) as much as possible, and this is one way that I can do that. Again, I’m not saying that others should or shouldn’t make the same decision. What are your thoughts?
