Parents and Facebook. They just can't get it right, can they? They're either posting too many photos of their kids; not posting enough photos of their kids; or posting photos of their kids that, good god, no one outside their immediate family needs to see! But there's a method to this madness. Kind of. There are specific reasons parents feel compelled to post pictures of their adorable children for all the world to see -- and, actually, the reasons aren't all that different from why anybody posts anything on Facebook. Here are the six reasons parents post photos of their kids on Facbeook.
We want to hear how cute our baby is. Of course we think our child is gorgeous and perfect and lovely and the next Bill Gates/Ryan Gosling combo, but we want to hear it from you, too. Who doesn't love a compliment?
We want attention. Hi! How are you? Remember me? If you didn't, you do now because look at that! I'm on your newsfeed right now! And I'm doing awesome things like having babies!
We want people to know how "advanced" our babies are -- AKA what amazing parents we are. What's this? Oh, you know, no big deal, just a video of my 3-month-old walking and changing her own diaper. Do you like it? You do? Then "like" it!
We want to show off our kids' cute new clothes. Be it because it was a gift or something we picked up on our own, new clothes are always photo ops for children in their parents' eyes. Will our little daughters and sons be gracing any "best dressed" lists any time soon? Probably not. But the odds are even slimmer if we don't post pictures of them in fedoras, Hunter boots, and Bonpoint dresses, right? And, I mean, seriously, is there anyone who doesn't like seeing a cute kid in a cute outfit? Come on. It's adorable, people!
We want our friends/families/coworkers who don't get to see our children ... to see our children! Some of my closest friends live far away. And they have kids. And it's a bummer because I never get to see them. And asking them to email me all 50 photos of their trip to Ireland is kind of unreasonable, so seeing their albums on Facebook is the perfect solution!
We're proud of our kids, dagnabbit. Haven't people been thrilled with their offspring since the beginning of time? The only reason JFK Jr. wasn't all up in Lem Billings' newsfeed is because Facebook didn't exist then.
So, see? The reasons parents post photos of their kids on Facebook aren't all that different from the reasons non-parents post photos of their vacations or their dogs. They're a big part of our lives -- and aren't we all under the impression, thanks to social media, that what's super important to us ... is super important to everyone else, too?
Do you post photos of your kids on Facebook?
Image via Nicole Fabian-Weber
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Comments 10
My facebook is only close friends and family because we are spread around the country because of jobs and military service. So we all use it to keep everyone updated and to see each others kids that we might otherwise never get to see.
I used to post pics of my daughter, but decided I didn't want images of her floating around the internet
i post pics for my family and friends to see, that dont get to see her monthly, i too only have close friends and reletives on my fb, i dont add anyone i dont know. i also have some very private settings so some creep out there cant even veiw my daughters pics!
I post pictures for one of the reasons, for friends and family that don't live nearby. I think that is the main reason. Also all parents think their kid is the cutest and most wonderful kid in the world and want to show them off, and I think that's normal too!
1. To share with far-away friend & family
2. To use as a backup in case my SD card is damaged, or there's a fire & all my pictures are lost.
I would be devastated if I permanently lost my kids' milestone pictures. They're the most precious things in the world to me. This way, I always have the best ones online that I can print out again later if need be