Navigating Digital Landscape: A Parent's Guide to Sharenting

It’s safe to say that the worlds of digital technology are present in our lives, and parenthood is not an exception to this rule. From touring a newborn baby as he/she takes those shaky steps to being able to post pictures of our children during carnivals, birthday parties or other events is incredibly easy with social media platforms. But within this sphere of immediate connectivity, a new and increasingly cause for concern – sharenting.

The process of parents sharing their children’s photos, videos and other personal information is called sharenting, a combination of the words: sharing and parenting. Despite the fact that it reflects people’s desire to be prideful and to find a company, sharenting causes some doubts about the child’s right to privacy and risks related to personal safety.

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The Allure and the Risks

Hearing about one’s child can be a source of happiness and unity hence passing a word to your child can be fulfilling. It enables you to bring your friends and families who may not be physically present with you and also can create a sense of belonging for parents. However, according to CG’s blog post, sharenting also carries potential risks:

Privacy Concerns: Minors particularly the young children cannot decide on how they and their data will be posted online. This makes a subject of controversy particularly on whether or not these programs have a right to privacy or control over their program.
Digital Bullying: It is always possible that shared content may put children in harm’s way of online bullying and harassment regardless of the situation. They might feel uncomfortable if some embarrassing photos or information could reappear many years later.
Identity Theft: Vital information like birth dates, places, school names and such like are exploitable for evil causes such as identity theft.
Predatory Risks: Excessive sharing of a child’s location and daily activities puts them at risk with paedophiles online.

These are just but some of the factors parents should consider each time they press the share button.

Challenges and Considerations

Balancing digitally-mediated parenting is easier said than done. Here are some challenges to consider:

The Ever-Evolving Online World: The change in social media platforms and trends varies very much. It is possible that today one action or inaction which seems completely innocent may have future ramifications.
Peer Pressure: There is a lot of pressure when it comes to both sharing things, and following trends, online. Do not be a sheep and just follow the crowd.
Long-Term Impact: All it takes is for information to get on the internet and it is almost impossible to remove it entirely. Think about whether you will like these posts if you were the child receiving them when you grow older.

Navigating Sharenting Responsibly

While completely avoiding online sharing might not be realistic, there are ways to navigate sharenting responsibly:

Get Your Child’s Consent (When Possible): For the more mature children make them explain what they want to share online to them. Say little and listen much, particularly concerning their choices and the things that they like to keep to themselves.
Think Before You Share: The information should be necessary and helpful to your child, you should ask yourself these questions. In this case, think of other normal methods of sharing moments such as creating a Facebook album that is only visible to family members.
Limit Personal Details: Do not post details such as your child’s full name, birth date, where you live or your child’s school name.
Control Your Privacy Settings: Remember to change the setting on your Social Media accounts to private. Mention only your acquaintances and modify settings for sharing so that no one can download something or share with others.
Be Mindful of Location Tags: Deactivate geo tagging of photographs and other videos.
Use Temporary Sharing Features: Features like the stories that disappear after a few minutes or hours should be useful.
Consider Alternatives: Think about how you could possibly get around to sharing memories, like using a scrapbook or making picture cards for some special occasion.

Beyond Sharenting: Building Digital Literacy

Unfortunately, there are other aspects to it as well when it comes to sharenting. Peculiarly, as parents, we are expected to ensure that our children grow into digitally enlightened citizens. Here are some ways to empower them:

Start Early: Explain the goal of safety and privacy on the Internet to children from their early age. They must know about things like having a positive social media presence.
Set Ground Rules: Set guidelines over communication, what they are to post on the internet, and with whom.
Open Communication: Remind your children to discuss anything that concerns them or a query they have regarding online safety with you.
Lead by Example: Be also careful about what you post yourself on the Internet. Oh yes, your children are not merely passive observers, but active participants observing and imitating your actions online.

Conveyableness in the digital context as a characteristic can be described as generating numerous opportunities for contacts and information exchange! Therefore, through responsible sharenting and promoting digital citizenship in young users, we define a better atmosphere online for all citizens.