A GREAT paradox of our age, I think, is that we have created a child-centric society, yet children appear to have no rights or control when it comes to being ‘promoted’ online by attention-seeking parents.

A case in point is Victoria Beckham’s gushing Father’s Day Instagram post this week, in which she shared a handwritten letter by her little girl, Harper. The letter, called “Thank you Daddy”, was very sweet, (and remarkably well written for a six-year-old), but I can’t help feeling that putting it on social media, for millions of followers to see, has cheapened it. What should have been a private keepsake moment for father and daughter has become just another cog in the machine promoting ‘Brand Beckham’.

Also this week, Kim Kardashian, no stranger to self promotion, posted footage of her daughter smearing Mommy's make-up on her face. Naturally, there was a product placement mention for the make-up.

Children are all over social media. I know someone who barely lets a day go by without posting photos of her two young daughters on Facebook. The girls are very cute, and she clearly adores them, but it becomes tiresome when she’s posting 25 images of them playing in the back garden, or riding ponies on a Sunday afternoon.

A chap I know regularly posts pictures and videos of his toddler doing ‘hilarious’ things, like spilling juice on the floor or singing to his daddy. Things that, well, pretty much all little children do...

There was a video doing the rounds on Facebook recently of a little girl who was in tears because she didn’t go to the Royal wedding. She was standing in the kitchen, asking her mother why “Princess Meghan” hadn’t invited her. All very sweet, but then, between sobs, the child scowled and said: “Are you filming me again?”

For such an intimate moment to be captured on a mobile, no doubt with viral online exposure in mind, turned it a bit sour. It seemed like an invasion of privacy.

I recently met a lady who is 100-years-old. She didn’t have any photographs of herself as a child - as she said, unless you could afford a studio portrait, you didn’t have your picture taken. She left school at 13 to join her family in the local mill. I doubt anyone told her she was “amazing” as a child.

Now, of course, everyone and their dog has a ‘phone camera, and today’s children must surely be the most photographed ever, of any generation. They spend so much time posing for photos, I’m surprised they have time for a childhood.

People post images of their offspring online like a badge of honour, letting everyone know how amazing and adored their little darlings are. Yet they give youngsters no say in such showcasing. It’s an odd state of affairs in a society so obsessed with children’s rights.

* SOME things are better with two people. Like a tandem bike or a game of Connect Four...

Others, it seems, are just as good with one. A recent survey found that a significant number of singletons are embracing the concept of “solo-date nights”. No, I’d never heard of “solo dating” either, but it appears to involve doing the following alone: taking a long walk, relaxing in a candlelit bath, cooking a nice meal, going to the cinema. According to the survey, 41per cent of women are happy to do all of this alone, compared with 36per cent of men.

I’m glad to see I’m not alone in - well - being alone sometimes. I particularly enjoy the occasional cinema trip on my own; it feels like an indulgent treat. I’m perfectly happy in my own company, I’m even considering going on a mini break alone. Of course it’s lovely to share experiences with loved ones, but there are times when I just want to be on my own. Call it “solo dating” if you like. I call it “me time”.

* IT'S probably safe to say that Love Island's Hayley Hughes won't be replacing David Dimbleby as the next host of Question Time.

The model told her Love Island co-stars she had no idea what Brexit was - "Does it mean we won't have any trees?" she said, when someone tried to explain about leaving the EU. In a discussion on the reality show that would've been laughable if it wasn't so tragic, Hayley struggled with geography, declaring: "Essex is a continent." She didn't know the difference between a city and a country, thought Wales was in Cardiff and Spain in the UK.

Despite, or rather because of, her "lack of general knowledge" she'll no doubt enjoy a lucrative social media career. Maybe she's more of a bright spark than she appears to be...

* ZARA Tindall has given birth to the heaviest royal baby in recent years, weighing 9lb 3oz.

I felt for Zara at last month's Royal wedding - heavily pregnant, wearing a buttoned up coat and high heels, probably feeling far from 'blooming' on that long, hot day. During the service she looked flushed and uncomfortable, no doubt desperate for some fresh air and the chance to finally take off her shoes.

We've all been to events when we yearn get home - to the bliss of kicking off our shoes and getting into our 'comfies'.