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I have given some thought about pregnancy and childbirth in the internet age and I have decided that my child will be the first, and likely only, child born in the year 2014 that will not have a Facebook account, Twitter account or have thousands of portraits online before she or he is even old enough to know what a portrait is. I shall indeed photograph the crap out of this child but those images are for people who can see them without a computer.

When my sisters and I were children our parents took pictures of us. But instead of plastering them all over the internet, which would have been quite the feat at the time, those pictures were stored in bulky books we used to call photo albums. When visitors came over they could look at the photo albums or choose not to. Those pictures were never thrust upon anybody. Our parents were somehow able to live full and satisfying lives without illustrating their every thought with pictures of their little angels. Amazingly, against all odds, we survived.

Maybe in 20 years I will do whatever the equivalent of a blog will be then and flood it with 20 years’ worth of zlap files and holograms. But for now this child is going to have some semblance of a private life.

At least until the teen years. Then I will close my eyes and hope for the best.