It exposes them to platforms that they might have opted out of altogether-and deprives them of the choice to never be on social media in the first place.

On a philosophical level, sharenting exposes children to the larger digital world without their consent, robbing them of a kind of agency. Though these platforms and devices aren’t exploitative, per se, Plunkett argues that they involve adult decisions that accelerate a child’s entry into “digital life.” Studies estimate that by 2030 nearly two-thirds of identity-fraud cases affecting today’s children will have resulted from sharenting.įor Plunkett, who is an associate professor at the University of New Hampshire Law School and a faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, at Harvard University, there are a couple of reasons to be concerned about sharenting. Others seem to happen in private but often end up turning your child into a set of data points, via fertility apps or Amazon wish lists, the use of a Nest cam, or photos stored on a cloud server. Some of these activities clearly involve a public, such as posting pictures of your child on Facebook, or blogging about your kids. Plunkett argues that “sharenting” happens any time an adult in charge of a child’s well-being, such as a parent or a teacher, transmits private details about a child via digital channels.

What happens when the slow telos of parenthood meets the insatiable rhythms of social media is the subject of “ Sharenthood: Why We Should Think Before We Talk About Our Kids Online,” a new book by Leah Plunkett. He never got to choose to not be on the Internet. I used to go out of my way to maintain the lowest of profiles on the Internet, yet I now resemble a member of the paparazzi, chronicling every mildly comical turn of my son’s life. Sharing images or stories on social media makes the experience bearable, connecting one to a larger world at a time when the scales and contours of life feel as though they are shrinking.Īll of this seems harmless enough-annoying, even, if you have hit your saturation point of doughy newborns.

The isolation of parenthood delivers one to strange places, especially in the early going, and you need your tribe. But these carefully chosen glimpses of adorable bliss often do little more than mark a tranquil reprieve during an otherwise arduous day. There certainly may be an element of proud boasting: “Oh, this? It’s just my daughter’s tastefully mismatched outfit,” “Admire my toddler son’s taste in jazz,” etc. But the same dynamic doesn’t quite apply to parents sharing pictures of their young children online. For the vast majority of people, checking Instagram involves a mix of aspirationalism and voyeurism the app feeds on a collective fear that we are missing out on something, whether it’s a fabulous party, a pop-up sale, or the mere concept of vacation.

Social media exchange bot