Does your toddler really need a Facebook page?

Last year, I spent a few months editing my sister Rachel's newspaper, whilst she spent time with her first baby. The birth of Rachel's daughter - and my niece - got me to thinking and researching some surprising trends occurring in media and publishing.

I normally operate in the world of social and digital media.... things like Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, YouTube and blogging. A report released last October shows that over 7% of babies born today have their own Facebook page. If that's surprising, some 9% have their own email address.

I can understand some enthusiastic parents starting a Facebook page to proudly show off their newborn, but I have to stop and wonder what a baby might be doing with their own email address? Given these stats, it's no wonder that over 70 percent of Australian mums do the majority of their shopping online. We're a hyper-connected digital society now. The internet makes it easier to buy things we don't necessarily have access to in rural areas or for time-poor women and it certainly makes it easier to keep in touch...at least when its working!

But just because the interet makes our life easier in these ways, do we need to make it more complex in other ways - such as maintaining a Facebook profile for a one year old, or writing emails on behalf of your four year old? I am forever shaking my head at the new lengths people go to online to claim their 15 minutes of fame - be it for themselves or their children.

What do YOU think?