It is not a new phenomenon. In fact, the British Collins dictionary included the term “sharenting” in its pages in 2016. Since then, however, the children affected by this practice have grown, and the effects are increasingly evident. Born from the union of “share” and “parenting”, refers to the action of parents who share photos and information about their children on social networks. Usually many. Too many. And that’s where the problem begins. Because although “sharenting” per se is not bad, it can lead to misuse of images, and a path to “grooming”, pedophilia, “cyberbullying” and identity theft, in addition to invading the rights of children. to decide whether or not they want to be exposed.
The danger of the fingerprint
The topic is so current that the French novelist even addressed it Delphine de Vigan in her book, “The Kings of the House” (Anagram). In it, Mélanie Claux is a frustrated former reality show participant who finds revenge and a path to fame by creating a YouTube channel in which she exposes every little thing her children do. Everything is going well and it brings her millions thanks to sponsors and visits, until one afternoon her youngest daughter, Kimmy, is kidnapped. It is a thriller and at the same time a kind of essay on contemporary alienation and the exploitation of intimacy. And it’s hard for her to read it without feeling that everything could be absolutely real.
“Sharenting is a digital obsession with documenting every moment of your children’s lives and getting likes for it. In the end, it is a mixture of love for children and love for ‘likes’ on social networks. The images we publish leave a digital footprint that is associated with personal data and begins to form part of the reputation of each minor,” describes Mercedes Morera, partner and director at Snoop Consulting PyMEs, a company that provides technological services for development, operation, software consulting and digital transformation.
For the expert, it is important to understand that every time we upload images or videos, they belong to the public space. And even if we delete them, we cannot be sure that that content has not been downloaded. Social networks can generate feelings of dissatisfaction and anxiety, triggered by the comparison of one’s own achievements with the lives of others that are seen on the screen and by the fact that everything that is published implies the approval or disapproval of one’s peers, generating an impact on behavior and self-esteem. “The photos that we upload today as a funny family scene could become an embarrassing anchor when the kids grow up,” warns Morera. The digital generation, young people between 15 and 24 years old who grew up with the use of networks, are the first to be affected today.
On the other hand, the danger of harassment and data theft are an obvious threat in these cases. Thanks to parents who happily upload photos of their children, at all times, there are stalkers collecting data that can put them in danger. From the school they attend to the schedules of their daily activities, everything can be recorded with bad intentions. To avoid this risk, experts recommend configuring network security and privacy so that only previously authorized people can see the content. Also, be careful with passwords and avoid predictable keys, to prevent theft of accounts and information. And finally, pay attention to what the school, the club or any other family member or friend may upload. “Every time we give our consent to a photo, we expose and leave a digital footprint of the minors,” points out the specialist.
A conscious decision
In the cases where this exposure is most evident is in the accounts with the most followers, precisely because the effect becomes exponential. In those of celebrities and also influencers.
Mechi Manrique, author of the books “Story Tuesday” and “Tell it with Stories” and creator of the motherhood and daily life account @lifeinpics_blog, she tries to be especially careful with how she shows her children. “It makes me sick when I see accounts with many followers and reach that share issues of private life, both of themselves and their children. From seeing a baby or small child learning to pee in the toilet or peeing to a boy crying inconsolably, with a mother who took the trouble to take a photo of him instead of hugging him and accompanying him,” she analyzes.
In this sense, she learned how to manage her own exposure over the years, as the boys grew up. Although at the beginning she shared more, over time she decided to delete some posts, especially as her account also grew in followers. “Today I choose very carefully what I show, and it is a very small portion of my life. I believe that one can generate good content without crossing certain limits,” she points out. Thus, she does not expose specific issues about her children, but perhaps something funny or more banal, with which her followers can identify. “Maybe it’s not what works best on networks, people like to see what happens in other houses, but I choose it consciously,” she says.
For Malena Bonati Zavallo, author of the book “Giraffe doesn’t know how to do it, giraffe wants to know” and who shares information on issues of parenting, motherhood and her profession on @malebonati, what happens is born from good intentions, but without much awareness about what it may imply. “I see that too many images are shared, too much information about the places where they live, the schools they go to, the vacation destinations,” she says.
In his own case, he started showing his daughters’ faces, but over time he began to have doubts and stopped doing it. “The oldest is 13 years old, this year I gave her a cell phone but she doesn’t have Instagram, only WhatsApp. And I ask her not to send photos of herself unless they are friends or family, and I make it clear to her that anything she sends no longer belongs to her, because the other person can use that content in a way over which she has no control. , illustrates.
With daughters who attend a Waldorf pedagogy school, she has an environment that supports and accompanies these premises, but she knows that this is not the case for everyone. And we live in a hyper-technological era, so it cannot be assumed that children are not part of it. For parents faced with this dilemma, he recommends thinking before sharing any type of content, questioning whether it is really necessary. “In the same way that we question what kids eat or where they go, we should question what we share about them. It is not a question of blaming, but when you are a parent you have the obligation to ask yourself these things and do them conscientiously,” she points out, maintaining that adults should not be so naive to think that everything that is shared is harmless.
Legal route
Sharenting has been with us for several years, but given the penetration of social networks in the last decade, it will surely deepen its effects in the coming times. It is such a pertinent issue that even the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights released a recent statement about it. In this, among other recommendations, it suggests reading the terms and conditions of social networks to know what they can do with the images or videos uploaded, and keep in mind that they can be saved on servers outside of Argentina, which may make it difficult to demand the future its elimination, since the request would not be covered by local law.
On the first day of school, a father takes a cute photo of his son. You can see the school, the uniform, the child’s expression of enthusiasm. Excited, the father uploads it to his networks, which are open. And what remains for posterity is much more than a simple family memory. In the era of “sharenting”, even the sweetest image can have its consequences in the near future.
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