If I googled you right now, would I find any cute baby pictures or embarrassing (but adorable) anecdotes about you? If I found some (or didn’t), would you be pleased? disappointed? Kids born since the appearance of Facebook and other social media are just now discovering that they have online presences that they didn’t put there. Their responses to the discovery run a full gamut of emotions and raise numerous ethical questions. Taylor Lorenz, technology staff writer at The Atlantic, relates some of their responses and explores the issues in this February 2019 report.
Lorenz, “When kids realize their whole life is already online”
- What happens when kids realize their whole life is already online? Do the kids all respond the same way? Lorenz doesn’t make any explicit statement about how she personally views the situation. Do you think she should have? Why or why not? Explain your reasoning.
- Some of Lorenz’s young interviewees are very pleased with their online presence. When Nate discovered himself online, he reported that it made him “feel famous.” Natalie said that she and her friends “were like, ‘whoa, we’re real people.’” Do you have, or have you ever had, a similar attitude towards your own online presence? How has your attitude evolved since you first came online? What accounts for any shift that you’ve experienced? (Before you address this question, we suggest that you google yourself. Any surprises there? Disappointments?)
- For her They Say, Lorenz relies principally on statements drawn from her interviews with children and parents, and overwhelmingly the verb she uses for introducing their comments is “said.” Consult the list of verbs in Chapter 2 of your text and identify five places in Lorenz’s article where a different verb might add some variety. Which verbs do you recommend? Why?
- Lorenz’s essay raises complex ethical questions. Proud, excited parents of babies and small children rarely hesitate to eagerly share images and anecdotes online, but as children get older, issues of consent and control emerge. How would you address these ethical considerations? At what age might children be able to exercise consent for posts about themselves? At what age should their veto power be respected? How would you deal with the disclosure of identifying information such as names and places of residence? At what age might children be allowed control over their own social media accounts? Write an essay addressing these questions using Lorenz and her interviewees as your They Say, and feel free to include your personal experiences or those of people you know.
They Say I Blog 
When kids realize their whole life is on social media from embarrassing pictures and stories it can affect them severely. Social media is a big aspect in today’s world but when children who are 11 and under are discouraged and upset that they could simply google themselves and find almost every detail of their life. If children this young are so hurt and upset about every detail of their life imagine a middle or high schooler who may have made a mistake or a rumor was going around and its on the internet for anyone to see. I dont think Lorenz needed to give her views because you could see her view through the children’s responses to her questions.
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Some kids do not like the idea of having pictures or comments about them out on the internet. Even before they have gotten any sort of social media, their parents have posted pictures of them on their accounts with out the child’s permission. People cam find out where they are from, what sports they play, language they speak, and their whole back story. I believe that she should have stated her personal opinion on the topic to show how someone perceives what is going on. She tells these stories of kids who are having their personal information put on the internet without their permission and what the effects on them were. She should have voiced her opinion in the article to show how she views the topic at hand.
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I personally think that kids at such a young age find it cool that you can search their name up and find tons of information, but I feel that Lorenz thinks otherwise in that her attitude seems cautious and alert towards all the details that are truly revealed about an individual online. I wish she would’ve explained her feelings more so it doesn’t seem like she’s almost promoting the “google stalk”.
I always thought my online presence was fascinated, but as I get older I realize that others post about me as well so I have to be cautious towards my actions even if I’m not the one creating the post. There are searches I’ve only simply been tagged in but the reputation of those things falls onto me.
As far as consent, any person should be addressed about filming/photography situations because every picture posted is more information leaked. Social media is an outlet for creativity, but unfortunately it can turn into a dangerous field for criminals or issues like cyberbullying.
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In response to question one, I feel as though adding her own reaction along with the reaction of those around her would have added more pathos to her article. This would have made the article more intriguing for readers especially if a response was very abnormal.
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When kids finally realize how much is online, you usually have a mix of responses: varying from, “wow this is so cool!” to “I don’t like this… at all”. I feel as if kids should not go to either extreme. At the end of the day, if you’re worried about what you can find, there’s nothing you can do to stop.
The author chose not to input her thoughts most likely because this is a big deal right now. Some parents are nervous and over protective of what is happening online while others are accpting to all that is going on. She has done the right thing to cover it while not inputing her own thoughts because now she is in the clear from any heat.
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I think it is very different for kids now, growing up people never really had to worry about social media because most of our free time was spent outside. There are seven year olds with social media accounts and personally I think it is ridiculous. We train kids to be so indulged and obsessed with social media that they grow up worrying more about how many likes they get on their post than who they really are as a person. Though not all of the kids respond the same way I think there is a reasonable line between sharing moments with facebook friends and giving various facts and stories about a child. Lorenz did not provide any personal views but I do not think their views are necessary or relevant; the article is about children discussing their parents sharing them on social media and how they feel about that therefore no further views from the author are necessary.
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4) I think children should be able to start exercising consent for posts about themselves around the ages of 10-13, when their presence and their peers presence on social media slowly starts to become alive. Majority of parents have pictures of their children from a young age on their social media, however young teens start to understand how social media can affect them and their future, and how they feel about certain things should be up to them.
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When kids soon realize that their life is online they get frustrated at their parents and mad because they’re doing it without their permission. Now, most of the kids respond some with the feeling that their parents are invading their privacy but some believe that it is fascinating what they find out about themselves. When these kids get worked up over these posts this young in life they have no idea just how much harder it gets when they hit a higher age. In the end, I feel she should not have put their information out without permission just like their parents did.
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Kids are often shocked when they find things online without their own social media account. Young children have very fragile feelings and often feel hurt when they find embarrassing photos of themselves online. The author really should have stated her opinion on the topic to ensure her academic honesty in terms of her biases.
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The kids are shocked that their parents post everything online without them knowing. Most of the kids are shocked when they find out from searching for it and not being told. I don’t think that lorenz should have a comment in this situation unless she personally experienced it.
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When kids find their whole life online, they were either very upset, or in awe of the moments they did not remember that made an appearance online. This article is just about the opinion of the kids that this has happened to. This topic does not apply to her considering her age so she cannot come up with a stance.
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The kids react surprised when they find out that they are online. They all, for the most part, act the same way when they find out that they are online. I think that she feels no good toward the situation because she wrote about it. If she had good feelings about it, she most likely would not have written about it.
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The reaction that kids have when they realize that their lives are already online is a very mixed bag. Some kids are horrified that there are “embarrassing” baby pictures on the internet that were posted without consent and other kids are excited and think that it is super cool. The reactions are varied all across a spectrum from pleasure to distaste. I think that it was a good idea that she did not put out her own personal opinions because it is about the children, not her personal opinions. She is not a child and was probably not a child during the social media age. She has not experienced what it was like to be a kid during that.
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I am kind of shocked when I look myself up, seeing that I have old accounts and posts that I have no recollection of is unsettling because I cannot take it down. My view on present online has not hanged much since i first came online, I have nothing to hide really, so i am not that worried about my online presence. however, as I become more active online I do have to be more conscious about what I post because I know that everything stays there forever. The only very scary thing is seeing my address and phone number because that is personal information someone could find me with.
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When kids realize their whole life is on the internet,some of them are okay with it and they want to research themselves. However, kids such as the ones in the article are not okay with their whole life being online.The kids become obsessed with their online life and it takes away from their childhood because they are paranoid that their photo will end up online. Lorenz should not have commented on her personal views because it is about the positions of the children she is writing about. Her opinion may be invalid because the article is about how the children feel about being online at an early age.
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Kids are generally surprised when they find things about themselves on the internet. Some kids didn’t really care and just thought it was cool but other kids reacted poorly and didn’t like how public everything was on the internet. I think Lorenz’s article was more focused on how kids felt about the situation so putting her beliefs in the article would’ve taken away from the main focus.
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At first i was excited to be online an thought the same thing, but i dont think i really wanted pictures of myself online, just pictures could have for myself, later in life i got an instagram to help i guess show off what ive done with my friends like going to beaches and stuff. Now i really dont care about if i famous or not, if i have a picture of something find funny or just find fun i post it without a care in the world.
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Some kids overreact, some under react, and there is essentially a common theme of worry regarding how this can effect them in the future. Having a whole life online is a bit worrying to some, but to others they feel as though it was inevitable anyway. Lorenz not expressing explicit stands on the subject is a welcome addition, or I suppose lack thereof, as it allows her to distance herself from the topic and let the “kids” speak.
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I think parents should always take into consideration their children’s feeling on photos of them being posted online. I think as soon as kids understand what Facebook, Instagram and social media in general is, is when parents should start asking permission to post pictures online. This is the time where their friends will also be exposed to these outlets so it is important to make sure your child does not feel uncomfortable or embarrassed. Parents should also be mindful of who follows their accounts and can see what their children look like, where they live, and where they are going. Having information such as this online can be very dangerous for both the child and their family. I think children should take control of their own social media accounts in middle school, but it is at the discretion of the parents and the maturity of the child to determine when they should begin posting online.
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I was excited the first time I saw my picture on google images. My attitude has not really evolved because there is not anything that someone can find out about me. There is only my profile picture for Instagram. I definitely would be worried if I found my address or any other information about me.
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1) Some of the kids reacted well when they realized their whole life is already online, saying that they felt famous or that they were real people. Some of them felt that their privacy had been violated and were shocked that a lot of their life had been documented online without their consent. Also, I do not think that Lorenz should have stated her opinion because this was an article about how the kids felt about their online presence.
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Kids act differently when they find out they are online at such a young age. Some kids can be more scared about how it can affect their futures while others do not care as much. I do not think she really needs to explain her personal views. This article is about the children’s feelings of being able to be found online at such a young age and her personal views would take away from what the children have to say.
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My attitude has been similar to those described by the kids that feel famous. My YouTube being shown when I search the name of the channel shows that it has gotten enough attention to be able to be seen. The reasons for having an attitude like this can be either positive or negative, depending on how the information is presented on the internet. As my channel has gained more attention, it has led to a more positive attitude toward my online presence.
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When kids realized their whole life was already online, they had a variety of responses. Some kids felt proud that they were already making their mark on the online world while others felt that their privacy had been severely violated. I feel that by leaving out her personal opinion on the matter, Lorenz added a lot of credibility to her article as an informational source. The article was unbiased and gave each kid an equal chance to express how they felt about their current presence online.
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2) Personally i did not have that same type of attitude towards my online presence. I started social media around a younger age and so for me to see my picture on the web or social media, i would not be surprised. Even with my mom uploading pictures on her Facebook, i was a little embarrassed but i soon did not care because it became an regular occurrence. My presence on social media has caused me to become more confident in myself and sharing my presence to other people in real life and online. When i searched myself,i did not find any photos that i did not know were up. I found my Instagram pictures, to no surprise and found very little information regarding me. There was even more regarding my name and other people, rather than about my own personal life.
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So the Riverwalk drink was so good! However my experience. So the drink is made with Coconut Ciroc and I’m allergic to any kind of nut. I asked for a substitute. Ciroc apple or any kind without nuts. I’m drinking my drink and it’s so good! I’m totally satisfied. Then all of sudden my throat and tongue is itching. So my waitress is so wack! I tell her what’s going on with me and my allergies again….. She tries to assure me that noting was put in my drink in regards to any nuts. I’m staying there itching and she could care less. She walked away to take care of someone else. I asked another waitress for the office manager. And she was very kind to me. However some Ghetto hood rat come out rolling her eyes and proceeds to tell me the office manager is in a meeting Pamela is her name at 10:30, 11:00 at night and she could not speak to me. And as nasty as she was she had the nerve to ask me what she could do for me, all the while rolling her eyes and being very unprofessional. I politely stated no. My waitress walked pass my table twice without saying a word and ignoring myself and my friend and I was just so ready to get out of there at this point. I ordered a Cobb salad. It was very good however I couldn’t enjoy it until I reached home once my throat and tongue stopped itching. I can say I love Starters which is right next door. I have never left there unhappy and I will never return to They Say again. It may not mean much to They Say clearly Pamela the office manager had no time for me and my allergies. I love Starters Bar and Grill and I hate that I even went to They Say Tonight. I left after a long day at work very unsatisfied very!!!
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There are several issues regarding online posts of children. First, some parents get too obsessed with their kids, for instance, they upload photos of their children on Instagram many times in a day. I personally have a couple of friends who constantly post pictures of their babies to the point when my feed becomes a flow of baby photos. I’m not saying I don’t like seeing their babies, but a new photo every two hours is a bit too much.
Second, it is indeed a violation of children’s privacy. This issue is serious and often is neglected. Many parents don’t realize that children are foremost individuals, they are people, they have feelings, and, as they grow up, they develop opinions. Most adults have photos of themselves that they don’t like for many reasons and those usually get deleted. So why is it ok for parents to post a silly picture of their kids without their permission or despite of it?
Third, and in my opinion the most important issue, is disclosing information about children: their activities, hobbies, and location. Potentially this makes children vulnerable to predators. There are lots of creepy people online and nobody knows what they are up to. So essentially parents are giving away a pretty intimate information about their kids without resistance.
Lorenz doesn’t express her own opinion in that regard. I am wondering if she agrees that children’s feelings should be in consideration, and whether she has kids and posts online about them.
Now, everyone is free to make posts about pretty much anything but I strongly agree that, when it comes to kids, parents should stop and think if it is really necessary to reveal information about their children or at least inform them and ask permission.
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When children, including myself, realize there’s vast information that is available to us on the internet, many out of boredom, look up their names. Similar to the children in the essay, I too had a similar response. At first, I was ecstatic over the fact that I felt like a “celebrity” and there were pictures of me with my name tagged along with it; however, as time went by I soon become uncomfortable with the presence I had on the internet. I always had a love for pictures, but a majority of my pictures stem from my mother’s Facebook who tends to post to her heart’s desire. And I resonated with what one of the children said, “No matter what you do, it’s out there for people to know,” (Lorenz). Although I am now an adult, my mother still sees me as her precious firstborn child and posts numerous pictures of me without my knowledge or consent. She tags me in these posts and not only do my friends see these pictures, but a majority of teachers whom I have gotten close to after graduating college. I feel that kids shouldn’t be put out there for everyone to know everything about. I feel that until they are old enough to understand what is going on and what the internet is, nothing about them should be made public for their safety.
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This article depicts the usage of parents infringing on their children’s early personal life by the use of social media, Social media is used by everyone, children included in said posts of their youth didn’t have a say in whether they wanted their photos to be posted on the internet for everyone to see, children have privacy rights as well, now some children are happy about it while some wish they could take it down, never to be seen by the public as a means to protect their reputation or just want to keep their private life a secret, but some excited or happy parents ignore that wish in the spur of the moment when they get excited about an accomplishment in the young child’s life so they do what any proud parent does, they record it and post it to social media as a means to put their child into the limelight. In my own opinion i understand both sides of the spectrum, i may not be a parent but i was a older sibling and whenever my younger did something my mom, dad and i were ecstatic and usually would record the memory so it stays like that a memory not to be forgotten.But i also understand the children’s point of not wanting to be put display like a trophy or piece of art as that strips away the means of being a human being.
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Kids do not respond the same way, and when they see they’re first picture online, their attitude could range in a wide variety of ways. I’ve been on social media most of my life, and it never seemed as foreign to me, and most of my class probably feels the same way. Though with that, keeping track of photos that are up on the internet can’t be taken down permanently, and I could see how someone would not be happy with their online appearance. It’s all situational and depends on the pictures posted.
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Most of the kids reacted negatively when learning about their online presence, but a few of them felt proud and excited to learn about their online presence. Lorenz was right to leave her personal opinion out of the essay, as the article is about children, and she would have had no place putting in her opinion, unless she also included a related personal experience of hers.
I feel incredibly relieved that looking myself up online has yielded no results, as I do not want anyone I don’t trust to know anything about me. I am surprised that the google search held no results, as I did have a YouTube channel as a child, and I know my father occasionally makes posts about me on Facebook.
I recommend changing said to either stated, declared, proclaimed, continued, or recounted for the phrases “‘No matter what you do, it’s out there for people to know,’ she said”, “Ellen said that while she didn’t find anything too sensitive or personal”, “‘My parents have always posted about me,’ she said.”, “he said. Ever since, he has Googled himself every few months, hoping to find things.”, and “‘…I want to be a person who is a person. I want people to know who I am,’ she said.” in order to decrease the repetition and monotony of the verb “said”.
I believe that there is no definitive age at which a child can exercise consent over pictures, it depends on their maturity and understanding of the situation. But if a child tells someone they don’t want that picture posted, the child’s wishes should be respected and followed. The disclosure of personal information should be a discussion between a child and their parent, as well as the creation of a social media account for the child to use.
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In the article “When Kids Realize Their Whole Life Is Already Online” Taylor Lorenz explains that many kids today are growing up in the age of social media. From the time they are born their parents have been posting pictures and private information about them online without their consent. Many of the kids had negative responses and retaliate by making their own social media accounts to reclaim their image and life. While others have had positive response saying things like they are glad to be a real human being and want everyone to know that they exist. I personally agree with the kids who have had negative responses to their parents posting their lives online without consent. I don’t want my parent’s friends all in my personal life.
1)Depending on the kid will determine their reaction some will have a positive response while others will have a negative response. Lorenz’s choice not to put in her own argument helps shows both sides of the argument without her biased opinion persuading us.
2)I personally don’t have a significant online presence. My mom only posts stuff about me on her private social media accounts so when I google myself nothing pops up. My opinion hasn’t really changed since I have gained a social media account I still have an indifferent opinion but I lean more towards the negative side of the spectrum.
3)Instead of using the verb said to introduce a statement Lorenz can us verbs like explained, expressed, disclosed, claimed, and stated. The verb explained fits in the place of said in the sentence . “I’ve wanted to bring it up… she said” without ruining the overall flow. The use of different verbs will add variety to the text making less repetitive and monotonous.
4)It is ok for a parent to post about their child at a young age. Even though the child wont doesn’t understand yet it is a way for the parent to document a significant journey, but when the child wants to take control of their presence the parent should step down and allow. I think children should be able to give consent or veto posts about themselves around age 12. At this age they are preteens and being introduced to social media and the presence they could or could not have. Disclosing information about name and place residence is extremely unsafe. When children start building their presence they should never disclose personal information like addresses. When they reach about age 14-15 they should have control over their own accounts. They can choose how they want to be seen and have the privacy and independence they want before becoming a legal adult.
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While in high school and college I played sports so I had information, stats, and some pictures online. As an athlete, this made me excited as it was a form a recognition. Now as an adult that excitement and awe has transitioned to a more controlled demeanor. Not all children respond the same way to finding their information and pictures online. Some children are timid than others and don’t feel comfortable with their pictures online. I think Lorenz didn’t share her opinion to be objective while doing her interviews.
In my opinion a child shouldn’t be posting information or content about themselves until high school. Yes, as a teenager we’ve made plenty of mistakes but we have also developed more mentally. In the time that we live in today, our children’s safety and innocence should be our upmost concern. I have personally witness a friends daughter, who is 10 years old, be direct messaged from a grown man asking to have a private conservation.
At some point you have to trust that you raised your child properly. I do feel that a high schooler should be allowed to control their social media accounts.
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It was very interesting for me to read this topic. Each question has its pros and cons. For me personally, I grew up when my parents did not have social networks. However, after a while, Viber and other social networks appeared where my parents can share family photos. It was very painful and not pleasant for me, it was even a shame when my mother exposed or sent someone photographs in which I joked or danced jokingly or even just didn’t get out very well. As a child, I did not really think about this. I began to realize this completely at the age of 16 years and older.
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Children now live in a much different world then their parents did and almost everything involves social media. If it were me, I would not like having pictures and/or other things on the internet that I wasn’t aware of. Many kids worry that things they post or things that are posted on the internet about them could hurt them in the future. This is something that our parents never had to deal with and is just now becoming something that can eventually impact a person and their future.
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It was very useful for me. Keep sharing such ideas in the future as well. This was actually what I was looking for, and I am glad to.
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When kids realize their whole life is already online, they all respond to this differently. Some are happy to be all over the internet while others are shocked to see that their personal stuff has been out there for anyone to see without their permission. This all varies person to person and what they think of this issue. As some people have mentioned, depending on how they look at this, they either liked the fact that they are online or didn’t seem to be too happy about it. The author stated some of the children’s viewpoint on this such as, when Nate discovered himself online, he reported that it made him “feel famous.” Natalie said that she and her friends “were like, ‘whoa, we’re real people.’” I personally wouldn’t have this reaction. I’m very strict on what I show about myself to the whole world. I look at it like there is this line between what you should and shouldn’t share. There are some information that is reasonable to be online but, when you cross that line, it can hurt you a lot negatively. The internet is accessible for anyone in the world which means you can’t control who sees what about you. Anyone can figure out where you are or what you are doing and for the whole world to know such information is not the smartest thing.
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The author, Taylor Lorenz, interviewed children on how they feel about their presence on the internet. Some were surprised and uncomfortable with the idea that there is information out there without their knowledge or consent. On the other hand, the 13-year-old Natalie and others felt that they are only ‘real persons’ when they have many results when googling themselves. I do sympathize with both perspectives on this. At the start of my sports career, I was really proud when I found a picture or video of myself doing sports on the internet. I had the same reaction as Natalie. I felt I was finally a real athlete. However, once I got older and started to compete more, these videos would also include more embarrassing performances and bloopers. These fail videos were posted without my consent or knowledge; consequently, I had lost control over what was out there about me and my sports career. Someone posted these videos with the idea that they were funny, which they were, but this person did not realize that it could negatively affect me. What if a college recruiter or someone who wants to have me on their team would have seen these videos? It could have made them reconsider my position and opportunities to get on their team. So, I think social media platforms should prevent parents and any other party from oversharing children’s lives on the internet, especially when kids are not old enough to understand the consequences of the internet and therefore cannot give their well-considered consent. At the end of the day, no one likes to be haunted by their past or have taken away opportunities over something that someone else decides to share with the world.
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