News
My Cyber Baby: One in five babies has an online profile
Posted: February 26, 2008
Gone are the days of relying on newspaper announcements and word of mouth to spread the word about your new arrival. One in five parents sends a picture of their newborn baby to friends and family within 10 minutes of the birth, with almost half of parents taking snaps of their bundle of joy within the hour.
Research by mobile phone provider Orange, conducted among 1,000 new and expectant parents, highlights how pregnancy and birth announcements have evolved in the past 20 years. Not only are parents capturing their baby's first moments on a camera phone, but many are even creating social networking sites before their treasured offspring are even born.
More than one parent in five has created a website or social networking profile for their baby – that's over 57,000 babies with their own Facebook, MySpace or Bebo page.
Paul Burns, Head of Multimedia from Orange, commented; "The birth of a new baby is a life-changing event, so wanting to capture the moment and sharing it with friends and family as soon as possible is only natural."
But some parents don’t even wait until their child has been delivered. One in seven have sent pictures of their unborn baby’s ultrasound scan via their mobile or email – which means over 100,000 babies every year are seen by friends and family before they're even born.
However, tradition remains strong when it comes to the first people to call - 85% of people speak to the parents and parents-in-law before anyone else.