Earlier this year, Kenza Mihalko, 21, became a first-time mother. She is overjoyed having her own child, but she is less than enthused with society’s expectations of mothers. And she worries about the influence that technology has had on motherhood.
“People post totally normal pictures of kids and there are still creepers in the comment section making inappropriate remarks,” said Mihalko.
Many parents post cute pictures of their children online. After all, it is only natural to want to show everyone that adorable snapshot of your daughter’s first day of school. But Mihalko worries because she knows that even the simplest images can be manipulated and misused.
“If he is in a picture that we post, we make sure that his face is blurred out,” said Mihalko.
“A lot of people have given me pushback about that but I stand by my choice.”
Mihalko does not post her son’s face online because she feels it is an invasion of his online privacy.
“I don’t want him to be a teenager applying for his first jobs and he already has this huge online footprint reaching back into his infancy,” said Mihalko. “I don’t think that is fair to him.”
She also worries about the misuse of content where someone takes an image and manipulates it to create abusive images.
“You just never know who is out there and who is looking at your content,” said Mihalko.
“And now with AI and the way it can manipulate videos and replace faces, I worry even more.”
Since becoming a parent, Mihalko has become much more aware of the dangers that children face online. She encourages other parents to become informed.
“We just can’t use our kids for internet likes anymore because it isn’t safe,” Mihalko said.
In the European Union, it is illegal to post anyone under 16 years of age online without express consent of their parent or guardian, under the General Data Protection Regulation. Mihalko believes that this is a step in the right direction.
“They have caught on over there and it is good they are making rules to protect children’s privacy,” said Mihalko. “I wish that people over here would be more supportive of the idea.”
Mihalko’s decision to leave her child’s face off of social media has been met with significant pushback amongst her family and friends.
“I don’t understand because I will still send them pictures privately, we just don’t want him all over social media,” said Mihalko. “But then they get upset because they can’t post him and get all the likes.”
Everyone knows when you post an image with a cute baby, that post is more likely to get traction. But there is a dark side to that internet validation.
“You wouldn’t take your kid out in only their diaper and parade them in front of a room of predators – why would you post a photo of them like that online?” she asked.
She also noted the risk of individuals taking others’ photos and using them on a fake profile.
“They can take your photos and make a profile then do horrible things and make it seem like you were the one doing it,” said Mihalko.
“These aren’t things I want my kid to have to worry about.”
