Michel Walrave, Sofie Robbé,
Luna Staes, and Lara Hallam
Front Psychol
July 25, 2023
Menu
We urge all parents and caregivers to utilize the provided resources to reflect on your own sharing habits. By staying informed and proactive, we can foster safer sharing practices that do not put our children at risk.
By legal scholar and professor Stacy Steinberg.
Shares tips and best practices for parenting in the age of social media while also reflecting on the impact of online sharing on your child’s digital footprint.
By Harvard professor Leah Plunkett.
Explores how the laws in the United States have led to a sharenting crisis that undermines our children—and how we can make choices that restore their privacy, as well as their freedom to play & grow.
Michel Walrave, Sofie Robbé,
Luna Staes, and Lara Hallam
Front Psychol
July 25, 2023
Cosmopolitan delves into the current crisis within the unregulated realm of family influencers, prompting parents to confront the consequences of freely sharing their children’s lives online amidst concerns about safety, privacy, consent, and financial compensation.
Why former sharent content creators decided to stop posting their children online after having built their platforms and income by posting their children’s lives all over social media.
Conversation with a former kid influencer, exploring the implications of sharenting and looking into how family vlogging works in a business where children are not entitled to any income they earn.
Interview with Leah Plunkett, author of Sharenthood: Why We Should Think Before We Talk About Our Kids Online, discussing the implications of sharenting for children such as risks to their privacy and safety, including potential identity theft, harassment, and future loss of control over their personal narrative, prompting experts to recommend cautious and mindful posting practices.
Explores how sharenting raises significant ethical concerns around consent, privacy, and the potential negative impacts on children’s mental and physical well-being, prompting experts to advise careful consideration and open communication with children about what is shared online.
Stacey Steinberg shares that as a mother, photographer, and children’s rights lawyer, she initially shared her children’s milestones on social media but later reconsidered the privacy implications and the ethical dilemma of sharing their life stories without their consent, ultimately advocating for mindful and restrained sharing to protect children’s digital footprints.
Research highlights the numerous risks associated with social media use among children and adolescents, such as depression and addiction, while also emphasizing the potential negative impacts of “sharenting,” including identity theft risks and harm to children’s mental health and parent-child relationships.
The rise of “sharenting” on social media prompts Sarah Adams and others to challenge the practice, advocating for more awareness of the potential negative consequences, exploitation, and privacy violations, while Leah Plunkett emphasizes the importance of considering children’s autonomy and privacy rights, urging parents to model responsible digital citizenship from a young age.
Examines sharenting, the act of parents sharing stories, pictures, or videos about their children on social media, encompasses a spectrum of behaviors from sharing everyday moments to monetizing content, driven by a desire for connection, though it also poses risks such as privacy violations and data security concerns, prompting experts to advocate for smarter approaches like keeping accounts private, obtaining consent, and limiting sharing of sensitive information.
Explores how Grant Khanbalinov and other influencers have regretted exposing their children to the internet due to privacy concerns and negative consequences, prompting them to limit their kids’ online presence, while Jolene Vargas reflects on her past oversharing and now takes steps to protect her son’s privacy online.
Gen Z, the first generation of children raised in the internet era, is dealing with an impossible new task: managing social media while maintaining their privacy. It is essential to talk openly with your child about what content they’re comfortable having on social media to respect their boundaries foster trust.
To help start the conversation, take a moment to view this New York Times piece which features conversations between children and their parents regarding being posted online. It highlights worries kids have about their online presence, the dangers parental over-sharing poses to their futures, and presents alternative ways to share.
1. Would you share this information or image with a stranger?
2. If your child’s peers saw this post (now or in the future), how could they use it?
3. How would your child feel if they found this post in the future?
4. Could a child predator use this image or information to gain access to your child?
5. Does this post betray your child’s trust or privacy?
