Children on instagram

[Kate_N]

13 hours ago, Pointytoes said:

Talent will take them where they need to be and I doubt artistic directors  wade their way  through the news of how many recalls and offers any child has.

 

Absolutely!

 

And there's so much discussion on this board about people's discomfort and criticism of all the current frippery which appears to distort the playing field & employment market ("perfect" Insta, extra coaching etc etc) I'm surprised that  parents might even contemplate starting an Insta account for their DC.

[Neverdancedjustamum]

5 minutes ago, Kate_N said:

 

Absolutely!

 

And there's so much discussion on this board about people's discomfort and criticism of all the current frippery which appears to distort the playing field & employment market ("perfect" Insta, extra coaching etc etc) I'm surprised that  parents might even contemplate starting an Insta account for their DC.

I do think that a beauty of this forum is that for every person who expresses their personal opinion (whether discomfort and/or opposing point of view), there will be posters who will express their view which supports the other side of the discussion. I also find that no matter how much some points and concerns are discussed here, it won’t deter people from doing what they want to do and what they think is best for the DCs, whatever what other people say (good on them!). Some of the things I’ve expressed as being not totally convinced by (lots of extra coaching, polished, extremely active SM accounts) has worked extremely well for others in achieving their goals so I’m glad to be be proven wrong on those accounts. I do personally enjoy seeing everyone’s opinions and all these open discussions.

[Drdee]

The tide is turning. The ballet companies, competitions and schools are engaging with the Instagram active and savvy. The original point about when (13years) to have an account becomes irrelevant when there are parent controlled accounts.   We are in the momager era and it is here to stay. I find it odd when an adult writes for a 10 year old as them and then another adult  replies to the child knowing it’s an adult writing the response. Now that is where it becomes weird. 

[Neverdancedjustamum]

7 minutes ago, Drdee said:

The tide is turning. The ballet companies, competitions and schools are engaging with the Instagram active and savvy. The original point about when (13years) to have an account becomes irrelevant when there are parent controlled accounts.   We are in the momager era and it is here to stay. I find it odd when an adult writes for a 10 year old as them and then another adult  replies to the child knowing it’s an adult writing the response. Now that is where it becomes weird. 

“Momager”…I do love that and it seems like eerily accurate terminology! Glad to see I’m not the only one weirded out by adults writing as their kids. I too see a lot of these verbose and poetic captions purportedly written by kids. Sometimes I would post a photo of my DD and sometimes a kid/teenager might message me thinking I’m my DD (though the account is clearly started as mine). I would actually reply and say I’m her mum but I will have my DD respond to them if it’s something my DD can reply to. And then my DD replies using my account. 

[NikkiNoodle]

Hi! This topic is a really tricky one because ultimately we all want to protect our kids at the same time as helping them to succeed in this often tricky world of dance & performance.

 

Our DD used to have a private IG account where she shared only posts of herself with friends as well as using it as a way to create a visual diary of special moments on and off stage, travel experiences and all the other adventures that come with being part of a competition dance team. However, after competing at one particular competition, our DD was approached by a magazine who offered her an ambassador scholarship; In return for contributions to what was becoming a crazy expensive after school hobby, she would be required to share the magazine's IG posts and post a monthly topic feature (writing about her experiences in the dance world). The one caveat was that they insisted her account be public. After some consideration we decided to accept the offer but that from the moment our DD's account would go public she no longer post anything personal (photos of stage and professional photography only) nor engage via DM or provide details about her specific training/performance locations etc in her bio. In the 6 years her account has been active she has won modelling work & ambassador deals which she has loved doing and, i'm not gonna lie, have helped hugely to pay the pointe shoe bills!. I don't think this would have been possible without having her IG account, or at least not as easily.

 

The truth is that pre-professional dance training leaves very little time for anything extra like castings and such so using an IG account like a portfolio can definitely be helpful (If, of course your child enjoys modelling and performing etc and it's not just for financial benefit or the parent's own gratification). In fact, the producers for the commercial work our DD did all asked for her IG account prior to booking her and even one of the top ballet competitions asked for it on application and once qualified they used her IG account in their own promoting and asked her, as a competitor, to share their posts. The truth is, Social Media is very much a fundamental part of the dance world we all live in now. Teaching our kids to have limited screen time and having regular open discussion about healthy, mindful SM use I think is key. The more present our kids are in day to day activity the less time they have to be online. Our DD is 17 now and seems to have it all pretty efficiently run. With such limited free time, she would much rather spend it reading a book than waste it on hours of scrolling or obsess about how many likes one of her posts has gained. The trick is to post and go!

 

I would say to be vigilant. Be careful about certain poses especially when in leotards &/or stage make up. The internet is rife with pervs. We have had to block many accounts over the years. It's impossible to know you've blocked them all, as there are silent lurkers and those who disguise themselves as other dancers or photographers. I guess if the follower is unknown to you, avoid engagement.

 

I totally understand the points raised about showing off, I think this is possibly a British culture thing which I and my DD also struggle with. We are encouraged from a young age to fit in and be liked even if that means making yourself a little smaller. Having lived in Europe now for many years I see it doesn't have to be that way. And in the US as well, they actively strive to 'be the best!'. Possibly a bit too far a jump in the other direction haha but perhaps It's all about perspective. Surely it's ok to shine bright. Absolutely not at the expense of bringing anyone else down or pushing them out of your way to do so however. I think we should encourage our young artists to be big and bold and share and create positive community so that others can do the same! but safely and with kindness 

 

apologies if I wrote too much, it's my first time haha!

[Jan McNulty]

Hello NikkiNoodle and welcome out of the lurking shadows.

 

No apologies are necessary for the length of your post - what you have written is interesting and relevant.

[balletbean]

The simplest way I explained to my four children as they were growing up, regarding positing photos on any social media forum.

“Only post what you are happy for your granny to see” “even on a private setting with the creation of being able to save anything via a screenshot there’s no expectation of privacy when using SM”. 

 
And of course the use of filters by others creating unrealistic images of perceived perfection (don’t believe everything you see) 

Whilst we can’t avoid these forums all we can do is educate our children to the potential pitfalls. 

[Pas de Quatre]

I have always told my pupils that they should only post things they would be happy to see on a billboard ad or the side of a bus!