We live in an era hyperconnected, in which everything seems to require sharing and publication. Oversharing has become so widespread that it affects everyone, regardless of the public or private nature of the moments. What seems to matter most are shares, likes and views.
However, one wonders whether it is morally correct share photos or videos of their children on social media. This practice, known as sharentingis a phenomenon in which parents share photos, videos and personal information about their children online.
The etymology of the word is fascinating, as it is a portmanteau of the English words “to share” (trans. share) e “parenting” (trans. be a parent), thus creating the neologism “sharenting”.
But what are the risks of sharenting and how can we protect ourselves?
Let’s explore together, through data and reflections, the risks associated with sharenting and, most importantly, why it is important for parents to understand how to safely post content about their children.
Sharenting: un “Truman Show” moderno
The current context is difficult to analyze with detachment, because a large part of society seems unprepared to face the consequences of the technological revolution and the related socio-cultural scenarios that are emerging and will arise in the future.
For this reason there are conflicting opinions regarding the phenomenon of sharentingand identifying the most suitable answer is complex.
Children born in the twenty-first century come into the world in an era where digitalization and the use of social media have become an integral part of parental routine or educational tools.
This reality has generated a sort of primary need by parents to share on platforms such as Facebook o Instagram the most important moments in your children’s lives, from the first ultrasound scans, to the first steps, up to the first day of school and much more.
Why must childhood today take place in a context in which the concept of privacy is sacrificed for online visibility?
From an idea of social familiarity we quickly move on to the concept of social familywhere posting photos, videos and anecdotes of your children on social media is increasingly common and normal.
This practice, however, obviously happens without the explicit consent of the childrenwho due to their young age cannot fully understand the implications of this media exposure.
The data speaks clearly:
According to studies released by Save the Children that we find in “Digital Times”, approximately 81% of children living in Western countries are present online before the age of two, a percentage that reaches 92% in the United States and 73% in Europe.
The same study tells us that the top three destinations for posting are Facebook (54%), Instagram (16%) and X/Twitter (12%). Furthermore, in the United States 34% of parents regularly post the results of pregnancy ultrasounds, in France 13%, in Europe 14% and in Germany 15%.
The thing that is most worrying is the little awareness with which this is done, not thinking and not being aware of all the dangers that can be encountered by browsing online.
Why does the need to publish photos of children on social media arise?
To understand this aspect in its entirety, it is necessary to carry out a psychosocial analysis, in order to understand what are the reasons that push parents to share scenes of daily life so frequently.
The motivations behind this behavior tend to be positive, as on social media you tend to show your best version, sharing only happy and carefree moments (in most cases).
By posting photos of their children online, parents want to express affection and pride in their children’s successes. This practice also contributes to strengthen social bondsallowing parents to share personal experiences of parenting and offer support to other parents in improving their own parenting experience.
However, although it sharenting may seem harmless initially, it is important to consider the possible future consequences of this practice.
What are the dangers of sharenting?
In the online world, the risks related to web security are increasing and it is necessary to be increasingly careful. Despite parents’ good intentions, sharing private information and images of their children can be revealing extremely dangerous. Once this information is published, several possibilities for problematic scenarios open up.
The risks we face are the violation of privacy, “digital kidnapping” (trans. digital kidnapping), creation of false images, cyberbullying and in the worst case scenario there could be online sexual exploitation of minors, associating images of minors with inappropriate content or comments.
Il digital kidnapping represents one of the most widespread threats. Metadata associated with images posted online can expose a wide range of personal information, which can be misused by cybercriminals or data brokers. This information can be used to create social profiles or digital dossiers. The theft can involve both images of minors and information useful for creating an alternative digital identity of the person themselves.
Another worrying phenomenon that should not be underestimated is that of deepfake, and we can define it as the most dystopian and worrying aspect of the technology available today.
With the term deepfake means a digital footage that is manipulated on the computerthrough artificial intelligence processes, to apply any face on the body of another person.
Creating them is very simple (and this is precisely the problem), in fact anyone can create them using sophisticated IT techniques, based on artificial intelligence algorithms (and, in particular, deep learning, from which the name derives deepfake), thanks to which it is possible to superimpose a person’s face on a body that is not theirs in a video and make it appear that, in the video, that person is saying what the creators of the deepfake want.
The correlation between the phenomenon of sharenting he was born in deepfake unfortunately it is very strong, because the photos and videos shared by parents on social media could be used by digital attackers as material for the creation of deepfake videos or photos.
This raises significant concerns for the privacy and safety of childrenas their images can be object of manipulation or exploitation through the unauthorized use of photos shared by parents.
It is important to reflect and understand that the consequences of sharing videos or photos are not limited to the short term, but there may be long-term implications.
These could range from legal risks, such as the disclosure of deepfake content or identity theft, to children’s privacy issues, because without knowing their thoughts on this vast topic, you run the risk of causing emotional distress or shame in the future.
How to prevent this from happening?
It is good to remember that the risks of sharenting they can be minimized just in case private and confidential information about the minor is not shared.
The safest and most efficient way to safeguard children’s privacy is to do not publish images or videos of the minor on social media, and above all not to share personal information such as the full name, date of birth, or school attended.
If you want to share scenes of ordinary everyday life or important moments of life, you can adopt some different defensive methodologiessuch as editing photos.
- Take photos from behind: it is advisable not to disclose the image of the child’s face from the first moments of life, one method is to take photos so that the face is not visible. This can help protect both children’s privacy and share meaningful moments
- Publish the photo with the “pixelated” face: some parents, thanks to the increase in awareness of the risks of the web, today share photos and videos of their children only after having obscured or “pixelated” the child’s face
- Avoid sharing personal information: places where minors frequent, such as school, names of playgrounds or recognizable addresses, must not be visible in the photos
- Adjust privacy settings: Adjust privacy settings to be restrictive across all social accounts, so you have more control over who can see what you share
These are just some of the many tips on how to maintain good online behavior and respect your children’s privacy.
The digital world offers many opportunities, but it is essential to know how to use all the technological tools at our disposal responsibly and consciously, minimizing the associated risks.