WHY IT MATTERS
Publicly searchable childhood content can potentially be discovered years later by classmates, partners, educational institutions, employers or other people in a child’s adult life.
Not everyone will search for or judge somebody based on childhood material, but a large public archive can expose an adult to impressions created by content they neither produced nor chose to publish.
1. THINK BEYOND CHILDHOOD
The toddler in today’s video will eventually become an adult with their own life.
2. AVOID HUMILIATING CONTENT
Tantrums, toilet training and embarrassing incidents do not need permanent public archives.
3. PROTECT SENSITIVE INFORMATION
Medical, behavioural, educational and emotional information can remain relevant long after childhood.
4. RESPECT TEENAGE PRIVACY
The need for autonomy generally becomes stronger as children grow older.
5. BE CAREFUL WITH COMMERCIAL ASSOCIATIONS
Children may not want their adult identity permanently connected with brands or products promoted during childhood.
6. REVIEW OLD CONTENT
Periodically examine what remains publicly accessible.
7. USE PRIVACY CONTROLS
Not every family memory needs to remain globally searchable.
8. TEACH DIGITAL-FOOTPRINT AWARENESS
Children should gradually understand what information about them exists online.
9. RESPECT REQUESTS ABOUT OLD MATERIAL
As children mature, reasonable requests to remove, restrict or privatize childhood content should be taken seriously where possible.
10. PRESERVE AN OFFLINE CHILDHOOD
The less that is publicly documented, the more freedom the future adult retains to introduce themselves on their own terms.
BOTTOM LINE
Children should not inherit an online reputation they never chose to create.