Should Moms ‘S.T.F.U’ and Stop Over-Sharing Online?
A Brooklyn, New York woman with no children has come forward as the face behind the popular website “S.T.F.U. Parents,” which lambasts parental over-sharing on social media sites like Facebook. But is it the Facebook parents who post about everything from pregnancy to potty training who are crossing a line, or is this woman Blair Koenig the one going too far with her blog?
Look, we’ve all seen it. There are parents that share every moment of their waking lives with their kids on social media, from the big to the small to the frankly gross. It’s too much.
However, there is also a lot of advice swapping and sharing and commiserating within the parental community that is comforting and helpful. Being a parent, especially a new parent, can be a very isolating time and this can be a way to connect and reach out. To mock these parenting stories and take them out of context is to me what makes this blog mean-spirited.
I myself shared a very personal story here on CloudMom about a poop accident one of my sons had. No detail, no photos — but I was trying to make a point about something I’d done wrong as a parent, to impart something to other people who might be going through the same thing and elicit their thoughts.
Check out my interview on this topic below and let me know what you think in the comments! Has “over-sharenting” gone too far?
Comments
bootsy
i think absolutely parents need to stop over-sharing. look – the digital age is here and it’s not going anywhere. how about treating your kids with a little respect? a little dignity? give them some privacy PLEASE. once something’s on the internet, it’s here to stay. i don’t know what the internet is going to look like in 10, 15 or 20 years. but if all of the details about my own poops were online from back in the day, i know i wouldn’t be so proud. and if i’m wrong, and the digital tracks lead to a dead end and don’t go anywhere, i’d still like parents to think about giving their kids some respect. just for the sake of it; people are people – no matter their age. try treating them like it.
carrie
Yes. It’s that simple. Stop oversharing. The commiserating can still happen when people post appropriate things. I’ve seen it happen. Not to mention, FB and other social media is all open. Your children’s pictures being out there for all to see? Stupid and wrong.
B. from STFU, Parents
Hi there – I just wanted to pop in to say that on the Ricki Lake show clip (featured briefly in the GMA segment) I noted that I do NOT post anything from personal blogs and websites such as this one. I actually encourage parents to set up blogs so they can discuss those “overshare-y” topics in a space that doesn’t have a captive audience. I don’t have a strong opinion on whether someone wants to share information about his/her family on a personal blog, because it’s not really my forte. I focus specifically on social media, and not social media parenting “groups” created within Facebook. 99% of the content on my blog was posted by parents on their main page for all of their friends (not a select number) to view. The other 1% is from public business pages and the like. Just wanted to clarify that. Thanks!
contactdesign
A little sharing is nice. A LOT of sharing is too much. Just like anything else in life, moderation is the key!