Just How Much Information Is TMI?

This week DJ Khaled Snapchatted his son’s birth live to the pounding soundtrack of his own album, throwing parents everywhere into the discussion of what exactly is TMI?

Wait DJ Who?

DJ Khaled. He’s an American record producer, DJ, radio host & social media star. He has 9 albums and ton of followers under his belt. He has become a bit of big dealio in the world of social media, specifically snapchat. *Sidebar: Snapchat isn’t just for teens sharing pics of their nudey bits anymore. It’s become a powerhouse social platform used by major brands to market their wares.

 

So what happened?

Well, Khaled decided to create quite the Snapchat story by posting the birth, from breathy start to glorious finish, live onto his channel. Cue folks saying ‘ermahgerd dude…TMI’.

Was this a proud dad sharing the most intimate of intimate moments or a DJ using the birth of his son to promote his new album? Was his fiancée fully aware that her labor groans and lady bits were on show to the 3.5 million folks typically tuned in for Khaled’s snaps? Apparently so.

Hmmm Interesting…

Very. Aside from the question of his motives, what exactly is the new norm when it comes to social sharing the moment of birth?

Back when our grandparents were born, women were bundled into a hospital room and encouraged to get on with their business while Daddy headed to the pub for a pint of stout and a lucky strike. Mother would emerge post birth, dust herself off and head back into the kitchen to finish up the pot roast. Not a single fuss was made. Luckily we’ve moved on and embraced the beauty and miracle of birth but how much is too much these days?

Many hospitals have put restrictions on the amount of people in the room while the birth is happening. Presumably to eliminate the nurses tripping over the camera crew as the hair and make up team stand around poised with powder ready to eliminate any potential light glare off mom’s unmentionables. Some mom’s want a full length feature film and some just a few delicately placed pics.  Some moms want a movie night complete with popcorn for the whole family and some moms don’t. Who is to say what’s right? Why shouldn’t a mom (or Dad) have exactly what they want to capture this life-changing moment?

Perhaps it’s not so much about what’s captured but more about where it’s shared. While some moms might not want their vajizzles on display to the world, there are plenty of moms that enthusiastically embrace the lights, camera and action. There’s no doubt that birth in all forms is amazing, hard, messy, emotional, scary, liberating and miraculous. Just how much of it is TMI and how much of it isn’t, is up for debate.