Last week marked the return of the “Back to School Mugshot,” which is something I don’t really remember from my childhood, but I guess has become a thing thanks to Social Media and all that jazz. Every year around this time your Instagram and Facebook feeds become filled with pictures of small children holding up a cardboard sign with their number or grade. These look like cute little mugshots of young/future criminals or maybe it’s a ransom note of a child asking you to save them from their deranged parents.

I know there’s one of these pictures of me in a photo album somewhere, but my mom took that picture for herself, not to show off to all her friends (also, there was no internet back then, so she would have to go knocking on everyone’s door to show them this strange picture of me). Also, the picture of me isn’t a mugshot, it’s me standing there in my uniform with my Ninja Turtles lunch box. Probably of my first day of school or grade school.

Why do parents torture their children just to share it with the whole world?

More likes!

Have you ever posted a photo on Instagram or Facebook (Let’s not talk about Twitter, you won’t get many likes there…) just to see how many likes you get?  Here’s some quick numbers I made up from posts I’ve seen:
 
Baby Puppies = 50+ likes
Lil’ Kitties = 75+ likes
Cute babies = 100+ likes
Ugly Babies = 110+ [pity] likes

Next time you’re with someone who has a baby, borrow it for a second, take a picture (of or with that baby) and post it on Instagram or Facebook. See how many “likes” that picture gets compared to your others, you may even get some comments like, “Aw cute!,” “LOL” or “When did you get a baby???”

I’ve seen many (non-parent) girls who are extremely obsessed with ‘upping’ their “Likes” and “Followers” pull this move:

1 They ask a friend/stranger to borrow their baby.
2 They take a “Selfie” with that baby.
3 They quickly hand that baby off to their mother.
4 They post the pic and watch all day for results.

And they will get plenty of them. Whoring yourself out for Social Media interactions is like fantasy football for these girls. They’re just battling to see who will receive the most interactions/engagements, but there is no money to be won.

So, next time you think of using someone’s baby or your own baby just to get more engagement on social media, first ask the child if they mind.

And here’s something else…