There’s no worse feeling as a parent than wondering if your child’s safety is at risk, be it physically, emotionally, or mentally — the urge to protect your child with every fiber of your being is just one of the most primal and fundamental pieces of becoming one.
There are several places that, as a parent, you feel your child’s safety and privacy should be most respected and with several people: think the teachers and staff at the school you send your kids off to or the nurses and doctors at the pediatrician’s office you visit; and the latter is at the heart of a TikTok video that’s causing quite a stir on social media channels and small-town gossip groups today.
Bre, a parenting and lifestyle vlogger from Texas, took to TikTok with a vengeance after her fiance’s ex posted a video of her own insinuating that it was somewhat awkward to work with her ex’s fiancee and baby in her place of employment, but the look on her face alluded that it wasn’t just awkward, she had some profound feelings about it. If that brief explanation gave you a case of the cringes — you’re not alone.
Look, we’ve all found ourselves in awkward personal and professional situations, which can be difficult. Sometimes, you want to get it off your chest when you walk out of something that makes you feel indescribably uncomfortable, but there’s also a time and a place for everything. That thought is at the heart of Bre’s reaction video to the initial post from Bryanna calling out how awkward it was.
Bre knows their situation is awkward, which is why she states that she’s extended an olive branch whenever they’re at her daughter’s pediatrician’s office because she never wishes to impact her day, but she’s not going to stand for someone mentioning their personal life on social media, or for someone sharing information about her daughter.
Her video is posing one fundamental question:
Bryanna might not have thought what she was doing was that uncalled for, but the truth of the matter is, she all but laid out a trail of breadcrumbs for people to follow if they wished to find out who she was talking about, and as we’ve recently discussed, it’s human nature to be inquisitive.
So much so, in fact, that Lucy had to backtrack on TikTok to get the full effect of the drama after she heard Bre’s video start with the “there’s a reason you’re the ex…” statement:
Social media is full of juicy tea spilling, but wait — can posting on TikTok really cost you your job?
A partner at Joseph & Norinsberg LLC in New York, Bennitta Joseph, says it can — but not for simply sharing your 30th cat video of the day, or reposting Joe Burrow thirst traps. Speaking to USA Today, Joseph said this about companies monitoring social media channels of employees:
“A company has a huge interest to make sure you are not engaging in discriminatory statements, disclosing trade secrets, threats of violence, and unlawful conduct. If they do find out that you are doing any of these, it could be grounds for termination.”
In the same conversation, Matthew Bergman, an attorney in Seattle and the founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, said that it’s important to be careful when deciding what to share on social media for reasons that involve not just your employer but your safety:
“I think it’s important to take a step back and be cautious when revealing personal information on social media. Whether it’s an employer looking into your activities or a potential swindler looking to take you of your money, I think it’s a dangerous road.”
While some of the comments weren’t so sure that the initial video from Bryanna warranted the response that Bre shared, others felt it was a warranted reaction, with some telling her she shouldn’t just share the information with her followers but with Bryanna’s employer.
The emoji Bre responded with proves that she had the very same thought.
A pediatric officer manager also chimed in, saying that the office manager must be made aware of what’s going on at once.
Why are medical professionals telling Bre that the office staff needs to be notified? Two words immediately come to mind: HIPAA violations.
Speaking of such, the Pennsylvania Medical Society shared the following information regarding sharing any PHI on social media, with PHI standing for “protected health information.” As many comments agreed, any “text, image, video, or other media identifying the individual as a patient of the practice” meets the bill:
“Generally, healthcare providers should never post information about patients on social media. There may be some limited circumstances where certain information can be posted if a valid patient authorization was first obtained. However, this authorization must clearly describe how the PHI will be used and disclosed, and the patient must have an absolute understanding about how their PHI will be disclosed. The posting of any PHI, without patient authorization, on social media may constitute a HIPAA violation. This includes any text, image, video, or other media identifying the individual as a patient of the practice, as well as any media in which patients of a practice or PHI are visible.”
While Bryanna’s initial video didn’t state the child’s name, it did identify her ex’s fiancée and child as someone she works with. As anyone who has grown up in a small town knows, it doesn’t take a lot to put two and two together, and the only tea small-town gossip circles love more than sweet tea, is spilled tea.