How would you feel if millions of people watched your childhood tantrums?
"The children of the Facebook era-which truly began in 2006, when the platform opened to everyone-are growing up, preparing to enter the workforce, and facing the consequences of their parents' social-media use," Kate Lindsay writes. "Many are filling the shoes of a digital persona that's already been created, and that they have no power to erase."
The problem goes beyond embarrassing posts. aymi Barrett, now 24, grew up with a mother who posted her personal moments, from bath photos to medical problems to the fact that she was adopted, publicly on Facebook. Barrett was bullied by classmates who found her mom's posts and eventually dropped out of school; she says she was once followed home by a man she believes recognized her from the internet.
For a while, Barrett followed her mother's example, complaining on social media about her family and talking candidly about medical issues. Her younger followers, many of whom are far warier than the elders of oversharing, suggested she stop. Barrett has since become an advocate for children's internet privacy, testifying before the Washington State House earlier this year.
"She and her mom have no relationship now, in large part because of the wedge her mother's social-media habits put between them," Lindsay writes. "Even with other people, Barrett says, she's extremely private and can be paranoid about interacting. 'I get afraid to even tell my friends or my fiance something, because in the back of my mind I'm constantly like, "Is this gonna be weaponized against me on the internet?'”