Vent - YouTube?

[Crystalwings]

This is going to sound judgmental and it probably is but i have issues with some content i come across on YouTube.
I can't figure out why some people feel it necessary to put their children on YouTube.
Am I alone in feeling that there is some serious breach of ethics at times? I mean is the child asked if they actually want images of themselves out there for all to see?

Today I was searching for instructions to make a ring sling. I came across several video's of extended breastfeeding. Now I am totally pro breastfeeding and have friends who breastfeed 4yr olds at aba meetings however i really feel that it's unfair to post a video of an older child bf when there are so many creeps out there getting off on this kind of thing. I feel like that child's privacy is being violated and fail to see why people would put video's of their kids on YouTube. It's the same with pictures of them in the bath, again it is a violation of privacy. I'm sure it's done with best intentions mostly but it irks me.

If you have another side to the story i would also love to hear it.
S WDYT? is it violating the rights of the child to portray images of them online in this context? Where should the line be drawn?

Mods please move if not in right section

[onthefly]

Interesting question.
I'm not sure why you draw a distinction between a baby breastfeeding and an older child?
Personally I don't like the idea of pictures of my children in any context being viewable to all and sundry, but then I do put pictures up on the internet and any of my friends & family who have access could in theory disseminate them without my knowledge (though it's unlikely).

I'm not a big online sharer though, but some people are very comfortable sharing everything about themselves, including their children. Maybe when these things make you uncomfortable it's just because it's not the sort of thign you personally feel comfortable sharing? I wouldn't post videos of my kids like that, or submit things to funniest home videos, or sign them up for baby modelling or anything like that, but some parents obviously feel fine about doing that.

I'm not sure at what point you can say there's a violation of their rights though. We make all sorts of decisions on behalf of our children and this is just one of them.

[Glamourcide]

I guess, for me, MadB's last sentence pretty much sums it up. As parents, we make decisions (whether easy ones or hard ones) on a daily basis regarding our child(ren), and those decisions are nobody's business but our own. I may or may not agree, I may or may not choose the same for my kids as what someone else does, but I try not to judge or get worked up about what other families do, especially if the kids in question are fed, clothed, loved and looked after.

[Crystalwings]

True. We do make decisions regarding our kids each day i guess i was trying to think about the ramifications of these videos in later years. Just to use this as an example cause it was relevant to what provoked this. How I would feel if my mum decided to breastfeed me until i was 5 which is all well and good but then posted videos of me doing it on YouTube for all to see. A lot of these video's had pages and pages of negative comments which would be horrible for the child to read later when they are a teen etc. I worry about the potential for these video's to get into the hands of the wrong types of people and am trying to understand why people do this. I guess in regards to distinguishing between an older child and a baby you can recognize an older child however lots of babies look the same or similar and thus it offers more anonymity.

[Astrid]

I must admit I am curious about the concern of images getting into the hands of the wrong type of people.

I suppose I just see things as that we cannot control everything. To an extant we can minimise the number of images of our child that out there by choosing what we do and don't put online, allow to be published in newspapers etc. We cannot control who looks at our child in the street, who views group school portraits sitting on someone's mantle piece etc What we cannot control is peoples' thoughts and to be honest I struggle to see what does it good us to stress over it. (Hope I made sense)

[Crystalwings]

Ok i must be a little strange then
I come from an early childhood back ground and maybe i see the rights of children a little differently to others.
Your right we can't change how people view what we put out there but my point is that the content of what you put out there needs to be thought about and i don't think there are enough people analyzing the content of their video's and how they can be viewed. To me that is violating a child's right if naked images of them or something of that nature is broadcasted without their consent. I'm not sure that YouTube should even let people put video's of say their children in the bath, naked on a public domain as how would they even know it was the parent putting the video out there?
I know it does no good to stress over it but just wanted others opinions itms.

[RhiChiChi]

I guess, for me, MadB's last sentence pretty much sums it up. As parents, we make decisions (whether easy ones or hard ones) on a daily basis regarding our child(ren), and those decisions are nobody's business but our own. I may or may not agree, I may or may not choose the same for my kids as what someone else does, but I try not to judge or get worked up about what other families do, especially if the kids in question are fed, clothed, loved and looked after.

I was going to say the same thing. As a parent, we make decisions at the time that we deem are ok/acceptable, whether that be from co-sleeping to not, to time in/out to whatever (IYKWIM?). I too try not to judge, although somethings I roll my eyes at but at the end of the day, like Glamourside said - as long as they are looked after, loved etc... I know that the parent is trying to do the best thing/make the best decision at the time for that child. I know I am not a fan of Utube for posting personal things, facebook with views to MY friends only is as far as I go but even then it makes me nervous.

[Arcadia]

I can see your point, but I admit I am struggling with the issue of a child shown breastfeeding. It is something that is normal and could be seen anywhere. Negative looks and comments happen in real life as well as online, and it is up to the parent to help the child understand this negativity, not shield them iykwim? Also breastfeeding isn't really the same as naked images of children because the child isn't at risk of being sexualised, only the mother is (or am I missing something?).

[Cranky Kitten]

. I know I am not a fan of Utube for posting personal things, facebook with views to MY friends only is as far as I go but even then it makes me nervous.

Me too - the only photos of my DD online are in friends-locked blogs for the benefit of long distance family and friends, I'd never post pictures of her to an unsecured site like You-tube. To me the risk is just too great. But that is my decision, and others may see things differently which is entirely their decision.

[MummyNaomi]

Personally, I have posted lots of photo's of my son on Facebook that only friends can see and also currently have a public blog/365 project on a blog site that anyone can see. I also have about 7 YouTube videos posted for anyone to see. I 'publish' content in this way for a variety of reasons.

• Most of my family live interstate so the internet is one of our most used mediums for sharing images and video
• I have many non local friends who I like to share this with
• I'm proud to show my friends and others my son - I am sharing his life journey cos I am damn well proud of it

I don't see it as violating my sons rights as at almost 2 years of age he is too young to make that decision, so I make it on his behalf. There are a number of blog photo's of him in the bath, none reveal anything other than his top half covered in bubbles, and one shows him from the back about to jump in the bath. All are in good taste and are appropriately censored.

I'm a good Mum, and a very proud Mum, and thats why I share. I think you'll find that is most peoples motivation for sharing footage or photos of their LO. I don't think there is anything sinister going on It's just the modern day version of our parents showing their friends photo albums / home video's etc

I don't think its appropriate to publish photo's where you can see images of kids/babies genitals - not because their nakedness isn't beautifully innocent, but more because I would worry a pedophile would view them. However, that horrible thought aside - I love to see gorgeous squishy bums, breastfeeding and our kids as nature intended as all are beautiful and simple parts of everyday life

[Crystalwings]

I agree that breastfeeding for example is a beautiful natural thing that shouldn't be covered up or sexualized but as sad as it is it is sexualized through the internet because lactation has become a pornography fetish. I more find it off putting that in a public domain anyone can make comment on the videos and the comments were so negative. I'm sure that the point of the videos were to highlight the importance of bf and to normalize extended bf but i just think it's unfair for the child to be in a position where strangers can comment on what she/he is doing and especially in a mean way.
MummyNaomi - I guess i was thinking mainly of YouTube because if you type in bath time or extended bf or whatever it was that got you off it comes up automatically whereas you would have to be really looking hard to find pictures on fb or a blog and you could be pretty sure it was close friend and family looking at your pictures.
I know i sound backward and it's the way of the world but i just worry about the safety of kids at times and their right for privacy.