Photos of children on social media: "That belongs in family life and not in the internet"

A photo on the potty, one at the very first steps and also a cute picture with a smeared chocolate mouth: all moments that parents can easily capture with their smartphone.

And you can share them just as easily - with family, friends, or with hundreds, thousands or hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.

In other words: with strangers on the Internet.

Sarah Kim Gries was 13 years old for the first time in front of the camera.

However, only on television and in times without social networks.

Gries was a child star in the early noughties.

She became known as "Vanessa" in the children's book adaptation "Die Wilden Kerle".

She is now 31 years old, married and has a daughter and a toddler son.

Gries shares her family life with a total of almost 250,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok.

One thing always comes first: the privacy of your children.

And that although, or precisely because, she herself grew up in public.

"It's easy to implement and protect your child"

“When I was young, my pictures ended up in the magazine. It was read and then, at best, it was gone. If such photos end up on social media today, it is practically impossible to ever get them out of there again, ”says Gries. Together with her husband, she has therefore decided not to show her children online. At least not recognizable. On her account @sarah_superheld, the two can only be seen from behind or hidden: “I don't know whether my children want to be shown on the Internet. Do you want to be shown the way I think that's okay? "

Sharenting - the phenomenon of sharing photos and videos of one's children online has even got a name. It is made up of the English terms "share" and "parenting". Successful stars, influencers and private individuals: Among all of them you will find parents who show their child publicly on social media. For some it is about more reach and the number of likes and followers: “Marketing a child is very easy. They are cute, do funny things and you just love to watch them, ”says Gries. Others, as proud parents, may just want to share a child's moment. Regardless of the motivation, Gries believes that you should be aware of the consequences: “You have to be careful that you have privacy.Because children are just children and it should stay that way. "

Together with her management, she has therefore created a face filter on Instagram.

Privacy Protection aims to make it easier to protect children's privacy when they can be seen in photos and videos.

Gries herself posts a lot about her everyday life, the filter makes it easier for her to make her children unrecognizable.

It basically works for everyone.

When recording an Instagram story, he selects the face that he recognizes first and blurs it.

The response was positive, reports Gries.

"Everyone who uses the filter can handle it very well and someone who wants to show his child doesn't use it either."

It was important to Gries that the whole thing should be simple, "easy to implement and easy to protect your child."

Children also have a right to their own picture

With the countless possibilities in the wide world of the World Wide Web, new dangers have also arisen. The Look! for example, would like to raise awareness about the media use of children. This also includes privacy when parents post a photo of their child: “Like everyone else, children have the right to their own picture, but cannot decide whether to publish it because they cannot yet assess the consequences. Parents are in demand here, ”says the website. There is also the risk that published photos could end up in unwanted hands and, in the worst case, end up on illegal platforms. Therefore look caution! especially “before sharing photos that show children in bikini or swimming trunks, in the bathtub or in other private situations”.It becomes particularly critical if a location is added to the photos, so strangers can find the child relatively easily.

Even if it is tempting and harmless in many situations to post a private memory of the child on social media - it is important to familiarize yourself with the possible consequences, says Gries. “For example, you can talk online about different forms of nutrition for children, but you don't have to film your child as they are learning to eat. That belongs in family life and not in the internet. "