A powerful new advert from the Data Protection Commission (DPC) in Ireland, part of the “Pause Before You Post” initiative, has been making waves online.
As shown hereunder, the film begins as an innocent family stroll through a shopping centre, with a mother, father and young daughter. What starts out as a normal outing quickly becomes unsettling, as strangers begin greeting the child by name and mentioning intimate details of her life, information that, in the scenario, was gleaned from her parents’ social-media posts.
As the tension builds, one stranger even downloads a photo of the girl, a chilling visual that underlines the core message of the campaign: every time you share your child’s life online, you risk sharing their personal data with the world.
What the campaign warns about:
According to the DPC, the ordinary act of “sharenting”; posting photos, videos or personal data about children, can unintentionally build a permanent digital footprint for them. This may include names, dates of birth, images, friends, locations, clubs or routines, all shared without a child’s consent or understanding.
The campaign highlights four principal risks:
(1) Misuse of images/data, photos and videos may be downloaded, reused or manipulated, possibly even turned into harmful content, such as deepfakes or child-sexual-abuse material.
(2) Unwanted contact or exposure to strangers, information such as routines, clubs or locations can make children vulnerable.
(3) Long-term digital footprint & privacy loss, once shared, data can remain publicly accessible indefinitely; children may lose control over how their childhood memories are used or perceived.
(4) Potential identity/fraud risks, shared personal data can facilitate identity theft or fraud, especially if combined with other publicly available information.
What parents and guardians should consider:
The DPC doesn’t call for an outright ban on sharing children’s photos or memories, instead, it urges caution and mindfulness.
Key advice includes:
Pause and reflect: Before posting, consider whether you’d be comfortable if a stranger knew this information about your child.
Share selectively: Use private channels, close family groups or private messaging, rather than public social-media posts.
Minimise identifiable info: Avoid posting names, dates of birth, school, clubs, routines — information that can be combined to build a picture of a child’s identity.
Wait for consent: As children grow older, involve them in decisions about what’s shared. Their agency over their own digital footprint deserves respect.
Why the ad feels like a horror-movie and why that matters:
What makes “Pause Before You Post” especially striking is how it transforms a mundane, everyday moment into something deeply unsettling. That sense of normality turned on its head, strangers knowing things about your child you only shared with friends or family, evokes the same kind of dread that horror films aim for. That visceral reaction is the campaign’s intent; to force parents to confront the hidden risks of everyday oversharing.
The shock is deliberate. It grabs attention and once you feel that discomfort, you can start to see just how easy it is to build a lasting digital “record” for a child, one over which they may have little future control.
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