{"id":38,"date":"2024-11-22T07:50:23","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T07:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.metu.edu.tr\/e273710\/?page_id=38"},"modified":"2024-12-29T15:30:30","modified_gmt":"2024-12-29T15:30:30","slug":"homepage","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blog.metu.edu.tr\/e273710\/homepage\/","title":{"rendered":"About Sharenting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is Sharenting?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Social media is used a lot today. A good tool for people to socialize<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though it appears as such, there are some problems it brings. One of these problems is ‘Sharing.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we are talking about is child sharing. Sharenting (child sharing) is the sharing of parents’ children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publishing photos and information on social media platforms can be defined as an action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Livingstone & Blum-Ross, 2020). With the integration of technology into our lives,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parents can store and share memories of their children’s growth processes in a digital environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They feel the need. However, this behavior also brings safety and effectiveness problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Picture: Adobe Stock<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dangers of Sharenting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psychological Effect<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the viewpoints of the parents and the children, it is evident that sharenting has a variety of psychological impacts. The primary psychological effect of sharenting on kids is how they see privacy. Sharenting may be introduced to children and made apparent to the public before they even comprehend it. As kids become older, this may have an impact on their social media usage and privacy beliefs. Family dynamics and relationships may also be impacted by sharenting. Unauthorized sharing of a child’s information may have a detrimental effect on the child’s future connection with their parents. One of the primary effects is a breakdown in familial trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital Footprint<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital Footprints’ Effects Children’s digital identities are shaped by the information their parents share about them. Children may grow up to confront their digital footprints as a result of this process (Livingstone & Blum-Ross, 2020). It has been noted that although digital traces may diminish with time, they do not entirely vanish. Children’s future relationships, social life, and occupations are obviously impacted by this circumstance. Children will desire to develop their own digital identities as they become older, yet this identity construction may experience negative stages as a result of sharing. As a result, outside influences play a significant role in the development of digital identities, raising concerns about how to strike a balance between freedom and privacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cyber Bullying<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children may be subjected to cyberbullying as a result of sharing. When parents post excessive amounts of images, videos, and private information about their kids on social media, a large audience learns about them. Children may get bullying and unpleasant messages from strangers as a result of this. Such bullying can harm children’s self-esteem, cause them to feel lonely, and negatively impact their psychological well-being (Marwick & Boyd, 2014).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Protecting Children’s Privacy on Digital Platforms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to safeguard their children’s privacy on digital platforms, parents must consider a number of factors. First and foremost, parents should maintain the privacy of their social media profiles. Children’s digital security can be better protected by keeping their accounts private and sharing material solely with those in their immediate social circle (Smith & Johnson, 2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children have the freedom to choose their own digital identities as they get older. As long as the followers are close friends, keeping parental accounts secret does not interfere with the development of the child’s future digital identity. There are several instances of private accounts with a sizable following, which should be avoided since it may result in sharenting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, if the child has reached a particular age, it is imperative to get their permission before distributing anything.The youngster must consent and be informed of the shared content (Davis, 2022). Open sharing of personal information should be avoided. Publicly disclosing personal information to youngsters is just as problematic as it is for adults. It is not appropriate to post children’s names, schools, or other private information on social media. Sharing such information might result in digital identity theft and jeopardize the child’s safety (Jones, 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When published on social media, information such as children’s names, ages, birth dates, schools, residences, interests, or places they regularly visit might pose a number of security and privacy hazards. Malicious people may find it simple to identify the kids with this information. Personal information should be kept confidential in order to avoid this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The primary means of protecting children’s social media privacy and avoiding sharenting will be mindful parents. Organizations that work to prevent sharing and safeguard children’s digital rights include UNICEF and Save the Children. Parents are now more aware thanks to these initiatives. Protecting children’s digital identities is a priority for West Virginia University (WVU), which also hosts a number of parent education programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A number of initiatives have begun, and sharenting is becoming more widely known in Turkey. It is evident, though, that this trip is only getting started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are Kids’ Thoughts on Sharenting?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children are under the custody of their parents. But with rights also come obligations. Every parent should defend the privacy rights of their children. All essential rights and obligations are safeguarded by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as the Turkish Civil Code. Parents’ social media posts, regrettably, may infringe upon some of these rights. Parents may not be aware that their public posting of pictures and audio on social media might result in major legal problems. The potential of abuse persists even when parents share these posts with friends and family exclusively through private accounts or channels. The Turkish Civil Code’s Article 28 states that a child’s rights are inalienable, non-transferable, and directly linked to the individual from the moment of birth. Therefore, in the best interests of the kid, parents should immediately stop sharing anything on social media that violates the child’s rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research on young children’s and teenagers’ attitudes on sharing is lacking, despite the growing interest in sharing. This raises concerns because the information parents offer creates digital footprints (Stenberg, 2016) and (unconsciously) helps their children develop an online persona (Marasli et al., 2016). On the other hand, there are instances of kids all over the world acting in opposition to sharing. News outlets reported in September 2016 that an Austrian girl, then eighteen, had sued her parents for invading her privacy by posting private childhood images on Facebook. According to reports, her father refused to remove the pictures because he felt he was entitled to use them whatever he pleased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cam Barrett is another example. Cam’s mother captured every minute of his early years on camera. These were not exclusive to the family, though. His mother posted all of these documents with a wide audience on Facebook, which was a well-known site at the time. Cam was harmed by his mother’s actions since he was raised without any privacy rights. These images and documents were innocuous at first, but they gradually caused Cam to become more apprehensive. The situation worsened. Cam said that people frequently came up to congratulate him. In violation of his rights, his mother had even disclosed information about his first menstrual period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barrett, who is currently 25 years old, found it challenging to mature in front of a social media audience. He claimed that his mother became so reliant on the praise and attention she got online that her time with him seemed like a work to “make herself appear like a good parent.”Because he was a youngster at the time, Barrett says he did not agree to being filmed and having the films uploaded online. He now has a tense connection with his mother as a result of the long-term emotional and mental damage brought on by this unwanted exposure. Barrett, along with other child influencers and internet safety activists, is now advocating for greater protection for children exploited to produce paid social media content. In 2023, he spoke in favor of a measure in the Washington state legislature aimed at “protecting the interests of young children featured in for-profit family vlogs.” This measure would allow young people, upon turning 18, to request the removal of content featuring them from social media sites and seek compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his statement, Cam said: “For the first time in three years, I want to introduce myself legally today because I’m afraid of sharing my name. When you search my name on Google, embarrassing photos from my early years appear. I’m afraid of them being used against me again.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can see, some children do not view sharing positively and may even sue their parents for sharing without their consent. Children want their parents to seek permission before sharing. However, obtaining consent can be difficult for some age groups, which brings about various issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cam Barett Picture: Supplied<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who Cannot Share His\/Her Photos?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharing children’s photos is one of the most common and critical issues parents face in the digital world; however, not everyone should engage in this activity. The consequences can be irreversible and devastating. It is not always clear whether the person sharing has good or bad intentions. There is also the reality that these photos can be misused by malicious individuals or lead to the child being subjected to cyberbullying. All these risks should be considered in the decision-making process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, the future rights and consent of the child should be respected. These rights are protected by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, published by UNICEF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can be understood from the protected rights that the impact of sharing on children should be carefully analyzed. The primary goal should be ensuring that the child does not feel uncomfortable about these shares in the future. Regardless of the child’s age, their opinions should always be considered and actions should be taken accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Particular attention to child privacy should be observed in professions like teaching and medicine. It is important to remember that these individuals also do not have the right to share without consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In environments like social media, malicious individuals can steal information, voice, and photos. Every piece of stolen data can be used in illegal or unethical activities or can lead to your name being mentioned in undesirable contexts. As new data is gathered, it starts to make sense and form ‘information.’ This means your digital footprints have turned into meaningful information and become vulnerable. Every share you make about your child may not seem like a risk to you, even if you don’t share with bad intentions, but for data thieves, it’s a different story. Every seemingly innocent memory you share can become a cause for concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s consider a small video you shared. With the advancements in artificial intelligence, voices can be converted into speech, and you can make it say whatever you want. With just a visible face, videos integrated into different contexts can be created. This way, integrating your child’s face and voice into someone else can make it indistinguishable whether the person in the video is your child or not. These scenarios are highly possible, especially today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is Sharenting? Social media is used a lot today. A good tool for people to socialize Even though it appears as such, there are some problems it brings. One of these problems is ‘Sharing.’ What we are talking about is child sharing. Sharenting (child sharing) is the sharing of parents’ children. Publishing photos and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9232,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-38","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.metu.edu.tr\/e273710\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/38","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.metu.edu.tr\/e273710\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.metu.edu.tr\/e273710\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.metu.edu.tr\/e273710\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9232"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.metu.edu.tr\/e273710\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.metu.edu.tr\/e273710\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/38\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.metu.edu.tr\/e273710\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}