Our children inhabit the online world like none of their parents have experienced throughout their childhood. They capture each and every moment and post comments, photos and share them with their friends online.  Today, sharing has become instantaneous –‘grabbing a bite to eat after school’, ‘slogging away at my hw’, ‘mum really stressing me out today’ and the comments keep on flowing. Each emotion, each moment is captured and shared. 

Years ago, children would hog the phone and share their day and thoughts with a close friend or cousin. Today, a child’s inner circle has become his/her friends on Facebook or followers on Instagram. Few can be considered to be close friends in the traditional sense; many are mere acquaintances and others are strangers in real life, but virtual friends. 

In many cases, the information shared online is considered to be harmless, yet in some cases children may share too much, opening themselves us to online abuse and also long-term consequences. The term ‘digital footprint’ has been coined to represent each and every one of our online presence online. A simple Google search of one’s name will bring up the slightest detail of what is our online presence – there for years and testimony of our habits online. The mere thought of such a footprint should immediately make us more aware of posting each and every thought and photo online. Once posted, it is there forever and forever associated with us. Whether it is posted by us or by others, it still remains part of our digital footprint. 

Prevention is always better than cure. While social networking is part and parcel of our daily lives, it is best to be aware of the consequences of the wrong type of information online. A photo of our youth can come back to haunt us during an interview jeopardising the job of our dreams. Ultimately, it’s a question of common sense and careful interaction. 

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