Some parents are investing in their child’s future social media presence just as much as they’re investing in their finances and education. 

Some parents are investing in their child’s future social media presence just as much as they’re investing in their finances and education. Creating email accounts upon the birth of a new baby isn’t unheard of, but now a growing number of parents are making sure to secure their future social media handles, too. These parents recognize that tweens and teens are online more than ever and so they want to help them with their digital futures by locking in their name for an email, username, or even a domain name. The children of parents who’ve already started this process are growing up already having a digital footprint, which has been a hot topic of debate recently. While some of these accounts remain untouched until the child is of age to use them, others are being actively used by the parents as a kind of digital scrapbook. But experts are warning that parents may be “creating an identity that [their] child isn’t going to identify with” later on in life. YPulse’s Millennial parents report data shows 19% of parents have started a social media account dedicated to their kids. (NYT)