With so many of us living far away from family and friends, social media has become the go-to method of sharing photographs and video footage of our children’s milestone moments and family celebrations.
But where does the ease of sharing end and neglecting our children’s privacy begin?
A 2016 study found that on average, parents post nearly 1,500 photos of their child online by a child’s fifth birthday. Posting this number of photographs online can compromise a person’s privacy before they are old enough to consent to their image being shared, many experts argue.
‘Sharenting,’ as a term combining sharing and parenting, came into circulation around 2013 when following a person’s life online via social media had become normal. Baby photos, first tastes of food, first birthdays and the first day of school are examples of images regularly shared by parents online. Parents post images to Facebook groups in search of support on topics such as breastfeeding and child development, while sharing images alongside certain hashtags can place images of your child into public searches on social media platforms such as Instagram.
We’ve researched opinion and created a list of questions you could consider asking yourself before deciding to share images online:
A study conducted by Nominet in the UK illustrates the extent of sharenting which can be explored, here – https://www.nominet.uk/parents-oversharing-family-photos-online-lack-basic-privacy-know/
Sharing tips for parents are offered by the organisation Internet Matters, here – https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/sharenting-tips-for-parents/