Should I post photos of my children online? Here’s what new parents need to know about sharenting

Over 40 percent of UK parents put photos or videos of their children online. It’s an indicator of how prevalent online sharing is, that last June a new word “sharenting”, meaning when a parent shares news, images and videos of their children on social media, entered the Oxford English Dictionary. Parents engage in sharenting for many reasons: because they’re proud of their children and want to tell family and friends about their children’s milestones and daily lives; to seek support from and offer advice to other parents; and to store memories. It can also be a source of income. Influencers may earn substantial amounts from brand partnerships when sharing their family lives online. Decisions about whether, where, and how much to share pose a dilemma for many parents. New parents may find themselves confronted by an uncomfortable paradox: they know sharenting may have implications for their children’s privacy, but find social media to be an important source of support and connection to other first-time parents. Some parents feel they have no real choice. Increasingly they are encouraged into sharenting by third parties. This includes family, friends, schools, community, the media, and big brands. More research is necessary to confirm how sharenting impacts children and their privacy. However, sharenting does pose some risks. Some parents have stopped sharenting after discovering their children’s photos have become the target of predators. Researchers have also discovered that it is relatively easy for third parties to obtain photographs, names and birth dates of children through parents’ Facebook and Instagram posts and to link this information with other online and offline sources to create detailed profiles. New parents considering posting a birth announcement on social media should bear in mind that sharing this information may expose their child to the risk of identity fraud. Many popular social media providers collect and share information with each other. Sharented information can be collected by companies, which monetise such information to profile children and their families, using their interests and likes to devise target marketing strategies. What to bear in mind There are ways to make information sharing on social media more secure. You can turn off geotagging on your smartphone’s camera app so location data does not attach to photos. Another option is to review privacy settings and to limit who can see your posts. On Instagram, for example, adult accounts are set to public by default. Set your account to private if you want your information to be available only to your followers. Alternatively, consider using one of numerous private social networks designed for families which don’t want to share information beyond a select group of people. Children’s images and information are increasingly shared not just by parents, but also by family members, friends and schools. New parents may find it helpful to think about how they want their children to be portrayed on social media and initiate conversations with friends and family about how their children’s information will be shared online, before their child’s birth. This…