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This Mom Explained Why She's Not Posting Her Kid Online Anymore, And It's An Important Wake-Up Call

"I had been posting about her since she was born 'til she was seven months. Then I decided to stop."

Note: This post contains mentions of childhood sexual abuse.

Last month, an investigation by the New York Times shed light on a disturbing secret that's been hiding in plain sight. According to their reporting, many parent-run accounts sharing images of their children on apps like Instagram have amassed large audiences of adult men who express sexual interest in minors.

Since the report was published, parents have been talking about how they can better protect their kids' images and information online — including momfluencer Samantha Kastenholt (@SamanthaKastenholtt), who has gone viral for sharing that she's not going to post pictures or videos of her daughter anymore.

Woman in a t-shirt with graphic design, filming a selfie video, with a plush sofa in the background

In a video that's been viewed over 1.5 million times, Samantha shares her decision, saying, "My husband and I came to a decision today that we're no longer going to show our daughter Seven's face anymore." She continues, "We've had a long talk about this, and I just feel like we live in a very disgusting world."

Samantha, who is 36, told BuzzFeed, "I had been posting about her since she was born 'til she was seven months. Then I decided to stop. I regret this every day!"

Samantha says she shared her whole fertility journey online, so it meant a lot to her to be able to share photos and videos once her daughter was born. "I tried to get pregnant for five years while having endometriosis, and nothing was successful. We decided to try IVF [In Vitro Fertilization] and found out that I also have low eggs for my age. So, after two rounds of IVF and only one egg, I somehow managed to get pregnant by the grace of god. She is an absolute miracle, which is why I was so excited to show her off when she was born."