No abstract

Many people had to stay at home with their families during the pandemic because of social distancing guidelines and lockdowns. This study aims to explore the content of 'sharenting' of parents during the early COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine periods in Turkey. In total, 401 posts were collected from public Instagram accounts of parents who shared their own children's photos or videos between 18th-30th April 2020, via the most commonly used hashtags of #korona (#corona) and #evdekal (#stayhome). Descriptive content analysis was conducted within identified categories. Results revealed that the popular hashtag #stayathome is particularly important for its optimistic representation of the lockdown process in society. Content analysis results show that with the inclusion of social media shares, family members spent more time together, which can be seen as one of the positive consequences of this period. In the results of continued sharenting during the early pandemic, children's faces were mainly kept visible, which might concern children's privacy. Additionally, mothers shared more during this period. Consequently, education to increase awareness of such concepts gains importance, especially for the well-being and privacy of children and any future implications.

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Social media is increasingly emerging as environments where more and more people are involved. The limited knowledge of parents' sharing about their children on social media (sharenting), which is a new concept in the world and in Turkey, has been compiled in this study. In the study, the information, photos, or videos of the children shared by parents on social media and the possible reasons for these shares are discussed in a way that includes the phenomenon of reflecting feelings, thoughts and behaviors towards others. Based on the examples in which sharenting starts before the birth of the child, it was emphasized what parents should be careful of while sharing and the responsibilities they should fulfill in terms of sharing. In addition, concepts such as digital footprint and digital abduction were explained, and the drawbacks of the issue in terms of both developmental and children's rights for children and adolescents were discussed. Finally, suggestions were presented on what can be done to raise parents' awareness towards possible dangers while sharing their children on social media.