Perhaps all of us over 30 in Colombia have a printed photo that makes us feel a little sad. It is possible that this photo rests in a memory album of our parents and that in it a naked child is seen, either in a tub, in a room or in an open field, with nothing covering its parts.
That photo of yesteryear may be innocent, sure it is, but that is not why the photographed want (we want) others to see it. The point is that in family gatherings the modesty sometimes disappears and it is possible that the aforementioned photo is at the mercy of friendly teasing from loved ones.
Now, however, some parents have crossed the line and are posting thousands of photos of their children without qualms. From the ultrasound itself they confirm their pregnancies before thousands of strangers and, in addition, they are creating accounts in networks for their descendants.
Why? There is a terrible desire to be noticed. The powerful yearn for more power and the famous dream more fame. Shakira, Ricky Martin, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, Iker Casillas, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Jessica Alba, the Beckhams and many more have exposed their children in the virtual arena. Charging or not for that —as if they were short of money— they have fallen into a dangerous practice and set a terrible example to other parents. They live fully and without pain the Kardashian world.
The above is known, but it is not an exclusive issue for the jet set. It is worth mentioning the case that Andrea Guerrero suffered in 2016. The Colombian journalist had to remove her daughter’s photos from her networks because a man took them to post them on Facebook with obscene messages. Andrea denounced —and later deleted— the following on Twitter: “This perverted rat is harassing me, I am disgusted and saddened to be part of a country where computer crimes are not important. Up to here with the pain of the soul the photos of my daughter! Thanks to all those who followed my little girl with good intentions ”.
Internet does not forget. It is risky to publish the photos of our children on networks and you have to believe it. Many are looking for their own brightness with the image of their children, perhaps because they mistakenly associate fame with money and money with success or perhaps because they see in the likes a synonym of social admiration. On the sidelines, it is possible that minors in the future want everything except the overexposure we see today and prefer to get away from a virtuality that is dangerous when mishandled.
Children can be victims of morphing, a practice in which a photomontage is made with the child’s image and a pornographic photo. There is the sharenting or overexposure that many adults, mainly parents, do as minors in their social networks. On the lookout for photos and videos of children, they are depraved, people who confirm cyberbullying with their actions and many other common ones who insult and offend on social networks.
It is a well-known pity that adults do not keep this in mind. We must recognize that virtuality is full of the worst and the best, and that we do not have any kind of permission to expose as we want to a minor, even if it is our son. Social networks are available to everyone, Samaritans and pedophiles. And although it is very sad not to be able to share the happiness of something as pure as a newborn baby or a child playing, it is not worth doing it before thousands of eyes that spy almost anonymously and with bad intentions behind a screen.
P. D.: Of course, I have also published some photos of my son on social networks, especially on Facebook and Instagram, where it is ideal – and necessary – to configure privacy filters on the publications. It is also welcome to remove, restrict or block people we do not recognize.
JAVIER BORDA DÍAZ
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