How LPBW's Jeremy Roloff Sparked A Parenting Debate On Instagram
Little People, Big World star Jeremy Roloff got his fans in a heated argument about parenting techniques after he posted a photo on Instagram of his daughter, Ember, while recovering from an illness. Roloff and his wife, Audrey, recently came down with down with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). They caught the illness from Ember, who had previously been hospitalized for the illness. Fortunately, Jeremy and Audrey's symptoms were not quite as severe as their daughter's had been.
"Well, we are all sick now, which is a bummer, but I was able to steal a few hours of fresh air with Ember anyhow," Roloff captioned an Instagram post of Ember on the social media site.
Jeremy Roloff urged parents to curb their social media habits
Roloff then talked about posting pictures of children on the internet. "Concerning the photos of our kids on the internet... I think there is a line of reason," he wrote. "As long as the parents are smart and respectful, it shouldn't be a problem, but there is definitely a line here."
It was the next part of Roloff's Instagram post that had fans breaking out in a debate. "I think a bigger problem than posting photos, is the act of taking them," said the LPBW star. "We all want photos of our kids, but if all they ever see in every single special moment is the backside of our phones, that will be just as (if not more) damaging than some innocent photo 15 years down the road. As far as weirdos go, sure, I get it, there are weirdos out there – so be smart and aware as mentioned before. At the end of the day, to each there [sic] own concerning this topic for me. However, one thing is for sure, concerning what the long term affects [sic] of social media will be, it will be just as damaging as it is useful unless we manage the addiction. And social media is very, very useful. How are you going to parent your phone in 2020?"
A debate broke out in the comments of Jeremy Roloff's post
Some people agreed with Roloff. "Thank you for that insight, I needed that visual as a push to make a conscious effort to be more present with my 2 year old than worrying about documenting every second," wrote one fan (via Good Housekeeping).
Others, however, didn't see the big deal in taking photos. "What's the difference between the back of a phone today versus the back of a Kodak camera back in the day?" one commenter wrote. "Nothing. We adjust to the time. Kids today don't know the difference."
Yet another fan said that, because of the photo Audrey Roloff posted on Instagram of Ember in the E.R., she took her own granddaughter to the doctor who was also diagnosed with RSV. "[Social media] can be very useful," wrote the fan."She is doing well because action was taken."