The vast majority of children are getting online records before they can walk or talk, and sometimes even sooner, according to a study by security company AVG. Online records can be anything: uploaded prenatal sonogram photographs, tweeting pregnancy experiences, making online photo albums of children from birth, and even creating e-mail addresses or social networking accounts for babies. According to the research, the average digital birth of children happens at around six months.
A company by the name of Research Now surveyed 2,200 mothers in North America (USA and Canada), the EU (UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain), Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. It found that 81 percent of children under the age of two currently have some kind of online presence. 23 percent of children begin their digital lives when parents upload their prenatal sonogram scans to the Internet. Seven percent of babies and toddlers have an e-mail address created for them by their parents, and five percent have a social network profile.
We understand why proud parents would want to upload content of their young children to share with friends and families but they must remember to keep privacy settings tied down and that once online, this information will follow them around for the rest of their lives. Most parents may not understand this given that all they had to deal with was old photo albums and VHS tapes of when they were young.