New parents have endless things to worry about when they first welcome a baby into this world. Among them, is the debatable question of whether to share the cute baby photos on Facebook. Should new parents share every breathing moment their child has had since day one? Many believe "yes." A new study conducted by Microsoft Research discovered that 62% of mothers of kids under the age of three use Facebook. Out of that group, more than a whopping 96% admitted to posting pictures of their kids or babies on the social media platform. Toy designer Laura Cornet picked up on the trend and decided to bank on it. She created a toy that automatically snaps pictures and posts it on Facebook. The future has arrived and it seems very freaky.
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Cornet conducted her own research and found that half of newborn babies are "visible" online since birth. "It's weird to be involved in the life of someone who doesn't even know I have already seen everything in their life," she told CNN. To challenge that, she decided to develop a crib mobile named, "New Born Fame," that snaps photos of the baby lying down and doing baby stuff.
Laura also designed baby shoes that have a GPS attached so you can always know where your baby is. Umm, if you actually need this I may just call Child Protective Services on you! This is just taking it too far. I understand that Cornet is trying to spark conversation about whether parents are oversharing their baby's business, but going to this extreme is plain wrong.
I think that's her entire scheme. She's forcing people to see how crazy oversharing can be and saying "this is where the future is headed." I don't like it one bit. It feels like the FBI or pedophiles, or both, could be spying on your baby. Thankfully her inventions are just a prototype and she has no intention to sell it as a real toy–at least for now.
"Some people were scared of it, thinking it's kind of a Big Brother watching their baby," she said about people who tested the toy. I believe that each parent should decide what works for them and share in moderation. Your baby will grow up to be an amazing grown-up one day. Don't you want them to have their own cyber identity? It seems harmless, I get that, but we really don't know the long-term consequences it may have on their future. We should all challenge ourselves to create memories without holding our phones up and snapping a pic. It's hard, I know. I'm trying to take a selfie as I type.
Image via Corbis
