Whether it’s an action-packed summer afternoon or the quietest of February evenings, Jules Osmany is a mum on a mission – to record every waking moment of her teenage daughter’s life. There’s 14-year-old Alexa baking, or playing with the family dog, or trying on yet another new outfit. No matter how mundane the activity, it seems, Jules is at the ready, smartphone in hand.
And it certainly doesn’t end there. In fact, the important part is what follows: Jules, 55, posts the pictures to her social media accounts up to four times a week. On summer holidays she’s more industrious still, posting at least one shot a day on Facebook and Instagram.
No wonder the family’s elegant Victorian townhouse in Northampton is crammed with photos of Alexa and her brother Louis, from when they were babies to the teenagers they are today – pottering about in streams on days out, giving each other piggybacks, swimming in glorious holiday pools and posing in sunglasses like models.
‘I just love taking them,’ admits make-up artist Jules.
Jules Osmany (right) taking a photo of her daughter Alexa in their home in Northampton
Catherine Zeta-Jones uploaded this photo of her daughter to Instagram with the caption: 'Carys with a car (love heart emoji) mammarazzi is what my kids call me with my camera'
She is not the only proud mum to turn obsessive snapper, of course. In fact, she belongs to a growing breed addicted to taking pictures of their children whenever and wherever they can.
Hollywood actress Catherine Zeta-Jones is leading the way – and when she recently posted a photo of her 16-year-old daughter Carys on a family holiday, she also came up with a telling new label. ‘Mammarazzi is what my kids call me with my camera,’ she said. The term – a play on the term paparazzi – has caught on with a vengeance.
Yet as camera phones grow ever harder to escape, the questions become more pressing, too. Just how far should we go down the road of ‘sharenting’, as it is known? Ofcom suggests that as many as four in ten parents regularly upload family photos to social media, and even England’s Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies has expressed concern.
Catherine Zeta-Jones (left) often attends events with her daughter Carys (right) such as the Michael Kors Spring 2019 Collection launch in New York City
Last week she warned parents to be cautious about sharing pictures on public platforms, not least because children might not truly have consented. ‘When in doubt, don’t upload,’ she said.
Jules is more than happy to be a ‘mammarazzi’, however – and for good reason. ‘I presumed having children would be easy,’ she explains. ‘But it didn’t happen like that. I had six miscarriages.’
Then, after five years of trying, she fell pregnant again, and this time suffered terrible nausea.
‘I had extreme hyperemesis gravidarum like the Duchess of Cambridge. I spent almost the entire pregnancy in hospital, being tube-fed, and I’d lost more than two stone by the time they cut the cord,’ she says. ‘But I was thrilled to finally have a live baby.’
That was 18 years ago with Louis. Then, four years later, she went through exactly the same to have Alexa. ‘I call her my bonus baby – I can’t believe I’ve got her.’
With such precious babies, Jules took hundreds of photographs to document their lives. ‘Then, when Alexa was two or three, I started putting pictures on Facebook and later on Instagram.’
These days, it’s mostly Alexa who features online – Louis has become rather camera-shy since turning 18. ‘It’s lovely – friends I don’t see often have been able to watch her grow up and know her hobbies and what she’s into,’ explains Jules.
But what does her daughter think of her frequent photography? ‘I always check with Alexa before I post a photo of her,’ says Jules.
The 'mamarazzi' enjoy sharing and taking photos of their children and posting them on social media sites
Then there are the ever-present concerns about the dark side of the internet. ‘I have 450 to 500 friends on Facebook,’ she says. ‘And if I’ve never had any interaction with someone who sends a friend request, they don’t get through. ‘I tend not to use the children’s names too much because of privacy – I call my son Teen Grump and my girl My Bonus Baby. I just feel safer doing this.’
Jules has every reason to be proud of her miracle babies, but it’s also true that her circumstances have been unusual. Why do other mothers seem so obsessive when it comes to pictures of their children?
Old-fashioned pride is one possibility, says chartered clinical psychologist Dr Abigael San.
‘It could be down to wanting everyone to see how wonderful they are,’ she says. ‘And a perhaps bit of sheep mentality, copying what others do online.
‘But it could also be a bit narcissistic. When you’re doing this, it’s helpful to ask yourself why you’re doing it. Do you truly think they’re wonderful and that you’re telling others so your child can see the reaction and gain confidence?
‘Or are people doing things like this because it’s feeding their own confidence – is it saying, “This is what I’ve produced, she’s a reflection of me and that means I did a good job and I have good genes.” ’
It’s even possible, Dr San argues, that some women post pictures of their children in
