Olivia Pilip and Jenelle Gartner have a lot in common. They are both entrepreneurs and mothers to two young children. They even share an office space on 124 Street in Edmonton.
They do not, however, share the same ideas about parenting in a digital world.
Pilip’s Facebook page reads like a baby book. There are adorable photos and videos of her sons Birk and Brody for her 464 friends to see.
“Our family lives far away so I feel it’s a really great way to connect.”
“They’re not here so my mom is constantly going on Facebook or checking things out from Ontario,” Pilip said. “She gets to feel like she’s watching our kids grow up without being here.”
Gartner, on the other hand, hasn’t shared one photo that identifies her daughters since the initial birth announcement.
“I felt it was not my right.”
“In terms of privacy, I know I’m their guardian but that’s their story,” Gartner said. “That’s their narrative to tell and as much as we can delete certain things off the internet, there’s some things that people can save or that there are traces of and I don’t think it’s fair that I post things that they don’t have a say in.”
If a parent decides to post photos, John Zabiuk, an instructor with NAIT’s Applied Information Systems Technology program, says it’s important to be aware of the data connected to them.
Watch below: Zabiuk explains why parents should be wary of what they’re posting online
Zabiuk says some social media sites strip that data off of photos but others do not. He says a parents’ best bet is to disable the GPS off of the phone camera. He also recommends reviewing security settings and usage agreements around photo sharing, and being choosy about which photos you want to share with the world.
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