Smart Devices, Smart Decisions? Implications of Parents’ Sharenting for Children’s Online Privacy: An Investigation of Mothers

Abstract

Parenthood ushers in many situations with which individuals have little experience. Given today’s technology-integrated environment, parents can instantly gain support from a large audience using social media. This support often includes “sharenting,” or regularly using social media to share information about one’s child. Using consumer vulnerability and communications privacy management theory as theoretical foundations, the authors focus on mothers’ vulnerability and how it may translate into increased children’s consumer vulnerability. The in-depth interviews in Study 1 offer insights into mothers’ expressions of vulnerability and how these expressions can be linked to their motivations for sharing children’s personally identifiable information (PII) on social media. In Study 2, the authors observed mothers of young children participating in a Twitter chat hosted by a major children’s brand, examining expressions of mothers’ vulnerability, the extent to which they posted child PII, and the extent to which mothers both expressed vulnerability and posted child PII. The authors discuss public policy and managerial implications for this understudied dimension of children’s online privacy and our increasingly technology-integrated society.

Sharenting, Peer Influence, and Privacy Concerns: A Study on the Instagram-Sharing Behaviors of Parents in the United Kingdom

“…However, research on the relationship of parents' peer networks to their online behavior is relatively scarce. Our analysis suggests that a strongly supporting offline network, such as close friends or family members, positively relates to the frequency of sharenting, which is consistent with previous qualitative research, where participants highlighted the discomfort with conflicting sharing practices between parents in the same family or friends group (Fox & Hoy, 2019). The role peer support plays in the frequency of sharenting might also be interpreted as a subjective norm of Instagram use (Ting et al, 2015), so that parents who are connected with a network supportive of sharenting are more likely to engage in this kind of sharing behavior.…”

Eksploitasi Anak Melalui Akun Instagram (Analisis Wacana Kritis Praktek Sharenting oleh Selebgram Ashanty & Rachel Venya)

“…Sebagai negara maju, undang-undang privasi daring sebenarnya telah diluncurkan pada tahun 1998, enam tahun sebelum peluncuran media sosial facebook, namun aksi sharenting masih tetap marak dilakukan oleh orang tua. Dari 15 ibu berusia 24-40 tahun yang diwawancara, mereka mengakui aktif menggunakan media sosial dimana saja, dan kerap melakukan aksi sharenting sebagai sarana membagi kebahagian dan bertukar informasi dengan para followernya (Fox & Hoy, 2019).…”

Optimizing the Future of Innovative Technologies and Infinite Data

“…Addressing issues related to sharenting will prove more challenging to solve with government policy. Fox and Hoy (2019) suggest FTC oversight of brands that target parents' social media accounts, which may overstep the responsibility of the FTC. However, they also suggest that the FTC provide additional guidance and education to parents about the danger of sharing information about children on social media.…”

“…In “ Smart Devices, Smart Decisions? Implications of Parents’ Sharenting for Children’s Online Privacy: An Investigation of Mothers ,” Alexa Fox and Mariea Hoy (2019) explore the act of “sharenting,” which is when a parent shares information about their child (e.g., an image) on social media and find that parent vulnerability influences the vulnerability of their children. In “ Your Data Is My Data: A Framework for Addressing Interdependent Privacy ,” Bernadette Kamleitner and Vince Mitchell (2019) introduce a framework for explaining the nature of interdependent infringements.…”