Like most modern-day parents, you?ve likely spent more time than you?d like to admit scrolling through Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, where your feed is now filled with giddy photos of moms, dads and their adorable kids. Perhaps you?re also chuckling at funny parenting memes while keeping up with heartwarming pics of your friends and family. You also almost certainly have an account of your own where you document your little one?s unforgettable moments in regular posts.
This trend of ?sharenting??when parents use social media to share content about their kids?is commonplace. Tons of celeb moms, from Chrissy Teigen to Amy Schumer, post frequent photos of their youngsters living it up on the ?gram. It?s a regular part of existing in the post-privacy digital world. So, it?s not surprising that 90 percent of children have a social media presence before their 2nd birthday, according to the non-profit organization Child Rescue Coalition (CRC). But one seemingly innocuous element of these posts could actually be putting your children at risk: hashtags. From the rosy-cheeked #bathtime babies doused in bubbles to the #pottytraining pics of chubby toddlers ditching their diapers, these markers have become somewhat of a map for child predators to find content.
What?s so #sketchy about hashtags"
Many of us use hashtags when we upload a cute pic; it?s a great way to emphasize a clever caption, rack up some likes and boost your online presence.
Hashtags are a type of user-generate...