'Sharenting' may seem like harmless family fun, but experts are concerned about its impact on kids' privacy
Privacy, exploitation concerns are substantial downsides to sharing parenting content online
When Sarah Adams started her TikTok account Mom.Uncharted in 2021, her goal wasn't to share countless photos and videos of her newborn child. Rather, it was to confront that practice.
"For the amount of time parents are online and sharing their children, I just didn't see enough conversations happening in regard to the other side of this: the negatives, the potential ramifications, the consequences, issues of privacy and informed consent," she said.
"Sharenting" is a relatively new term to describe parents over-sharing their children's intimate lives online, but it is not a new concept. The rise of technology and specifically social media has made it very easy for parents to record and share every milestone of their children's lives, from birth to the first day of school.
But what concerns researchers and parents like Adams is the type of content being shared — such as embarrassing moments and traumatic pranks — and the way it's being exploited.
"A lot of what I talk about is in relation to the influencers and the family vloggers who have turned their children into content," she told The Current guest host Mark Kelley.
"You know, monetized them and commercialized their childhood, and whose accounts would not be successful without regularly featuring their children."
Adams said she's seen a growth in "sharenting" content since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is backed by research published in the Journal of Consumer Affairs, which found the pandemic accelerated "sharenting" by forcing interactions to move online.
Leah Plunkett, author of Sharenthood: Why We Should Think Before We Talk about Our Kids Online, says "sharenting" is a complex space.
"We should think before we talk about our kids online, because all children deserve a private space to play, to make mischief, even make a few mistakes and grow up better for having made them," she told Kelley.
"I don't just mean play in terms of board games or make-believe…. But I really mean a range of personal freedom for exploration that is free from the unwanted gaze of others, both now and in the future."
Drawing a line
When it comes to deciding what to share, Plunkett says there are two "line-drawing" exercises to consider.
"The first way is an objective line-drawing exercise," she said. "It is too much if 'sharenting' involves parents doing things that are dangerous, illegal or criminal, or very likely to lead to embarrassment or other negative consequences for their children now or in the future."
Plunkett considers "influencer content" to be under this umbrella. She says parents should ask themselves if they're affording their kids the same protections others would have in a labour industry.
You really do need to stop and think and realize that if you are sharing … anything that can be used to identify them, you really are doing the equivalent of taking out an ad on a billboard by a highway.-Leah Plunkett, author of Sharenthood: Why We Should Think Before We Talk about Our Kids Online
In one particularly extreme case that Adams came across, one account offered for purchase photo sets of their preteen daughter and her friend in midriff-baring attire
"Sadly, there are some parents online who are exploiting specifically their young girls in various ways," Adams said.
But Plunkett said the second kind of line-drawing exercise usually involves more subjective issues that can also be entangled in the legitimate upsides to sharenting. These include community building, generating an ethical family business, and creating spaces to find and share medical and mental health resources, all that still require mindfulness about kids' privacy.
This resonates with content creator Alana Kayfetz. She's the founder of Mom Halo, a network of millennial moms in Canada, and she uses social media to share the story of her two-year-old son, who has a very rare genetic disorder.
"To me, that was my fight song, about advocating and spearheading initiatives for rare genetic diseases, for fundraising for hospitals," she told Kelley.
"Anytime I talk about him, people are highly engaged because I really think they care and they're interested in his well-being. Not to mention it was a great way for me to connect with other people with his condition."
She also makes sure to give her other child, a six-year-old, the autonomy to decide whether they want to appear on social media or not.
"I said to him recently and honestly, 'Let me know if this doesn't feel good and warm and fuzzy, then we won't do it,'" she said. "So I think it is about getting to an age and stage where they can have that conversation.
Setting the tone early
Even in cases where an appropriate balance is found, Plunkett said adults should always take a step back and consider the unintended consequences sharing a child's private information might have in the future.
"You really do need to stop and think and realize that if you are sharing … anything that can be used to identify them, you really are doing the equivalent of taking out an ad on a billboard by a highway," she said.
"And not just a highway that some people will drive down, but a highway that potentially the whole world could drive down, now and in the future."
That's why Plunkett believes parents should model the kind of digital citizenship they want their kids to have when they are young.
"As a parent, if you want your child to turn 16 and be thoughtful and respectful of themselves and others in terms of what they post and share, you need to start modelling that from a very young age," she said.
Produced by Samantha Lui.
