No emojis covering kids faces on social media
Summary
A stranger on the subway has strong opinions about emoji-censored kid photos on social media. The take? Either post a photo or don't. Covering your child's face with a heart emoji is "visually heinous" and performative, signaling you vaguely care about privacy while still posting for clout. Kareem agrees wholeheartedly, comparing it to people who announce they don't own a TV or say they "went to school in Boston." The conversation gets funny when they discuss parents who suddenly reveal their kid's face at an arbitrary age, as if a three-year-old consented to being online. The real kicker? When that brand deal arrives. They joke about needing $150K or $250K to show the baby's face because "that pays for the whole college days." The solution is simple: use close friends lists, text messages, or don't post at all.
Full Transcript
So, what's your take? No emojis covering kids' faces on social media. Either post a photo or don't.
100% agree. I like it. Either do it or don't do it.
Exactly. It's visually heinous. I don't want to see a heart emoji with legs. And it's performative in the worst ways.
You're posturing parenting, but you're also saying I'm above you because, you know, I vaguely care about privacy.
I have figured out a workaround.
I'm okay with that. I post my baby from the back.
I'm serious. I know. [laughter] So I just don't cover it with an emoji. I just don't show its face. It—
I'm calling it. The emoji censoring. It's kind of like someone who loves to tell you they don't have a TV.
Yes. Or says, "I went to school in Boston."
It's like, "We get it." They're like, "I'm better than you."
Yeah. Just show your cute kid. Or if you really care about privacy— Don't show the kid.
Protect your privacy. The main motive of censoring is people are like, "I don't—my kid didn't give me permission to post their face."
Yes. And then it's funny when someone like reveals their kid's face at like an arbitrary age or the kid, you know, the kid could be like three and it's like, "Okay, now they did say—" [laughter] and they understand the nuances of social media. Yeah. Now they're like, "It's okay, Dad."
Yeah. Or they got a brand deal. Oh, that is the worst one.
Put the hijab on the kid and then all of a sudden they get a little check and they go, "Here's a kid." Yeah. You care that much about privacy, did you? Did you really?
What's the creepiest emoji coverup face?
You don't like the heart with legs. The heart with legs is fat. Maybe like the clown emoji.
I like doing the baby. They're all equally bad.
You know what I might start doing?
What? I'm going to post the baby like this or a blur.
Also bad. It's all the same thing. So the solution is you're either doing it or you're not doing it.
Yes. It is 100% fine to never post your kid. I love to see your cute kid. But the tools exist. Close friends exist. Text messages exist. Private photo albums exist. So if you're actually—a bunch of strangers— It's all right there.
I'm a cool dad until that check comes. 150K.
150K. You can see my baby's face 'cause that pays for the whole college days. Who knows? I need 250. I need 250.