Posting pictures of your child online is “just not safe”, actress and influencer Stefanie Preissner has said.
Currently, the French Parliament is considering a crackdown on the practise, which is often dubbed ‘sharenting’, in order to protect the privacy of children.
Speaking to Lunchtime Live, Ms Preissner said she used to post pictures of her daughter, Rorí, on social media but reconsidered after she was recognised by someone in the local community.
“I started to cover up her face,” she said.
“I thought that I would do it until she was one and then I realise at about 10 months, she looked like she was going to look - like you’d recognise her.
“Noel was holding her one day in a baby sling and he had a hat and sunglasses on and someone in a shopping centre was like, ‘I know that baby, that’s Rorí, hi Noel’ and it was just really disconcerting.
“I was like, ‘Oh, my God, if they can recognise the baby, that’s just not safe.
“So, I’ve stopped sharing her now.”
Today FM presenter Alison Curtis happily admits she is a “little bit guilty” of sharenting but has also changed her ways in recent years.
“When I started on Instagram, Joan was very little and I didn’t think of it at all and now that she’s 12, I am thinking of it a lot more and I have really dialled it back,” she said.
“She would appear on my stories but I really haven’t had her on my grid in a long while because I am aware she’s not giving me consent.
“She can give me consent now because she’s old enough but when she was younger she didn’t.”
‘Why do you put a heart on the kids’ faces?’
With hindsight, Ms Curtis said she should have been “more cautious” and thought through the consequences of sharenting more.
“One in particular, she’s always being asked, ‘Why do you put a heart on the kids’ faces?’” she said.
“It’s because she’s concerned about the shared images and the children’s non-consent going forward - so she’s gotten it right from day one, whereas I have to admit I don’t think I did.”
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Main image: A couple with their children taking a selfie. Picture by: Alamy.com
