"Sharenting" : Posting Child Photos Online

"It's kind of like having bragging rights, but it's sharing to much bigger audiences Much of the fodder for pedophiles is not manufactured. It comes from parents, from these public posts."

"If we saw some random guy peering into our child's window, what would our reaction be? Think of that situation online. The only difference is the physical versus the virtual realm."

"It's very obvious that there's no real consent going on with many of these children."

"The opinion my colleagues and I have is that if the child is not able to understand and give consent -- whatever age that might be for that child -- then all that information should probably be kept private."

"A lot more people have access to information about a minor than I think the world knows. It's the fact that -- No.1 -- there's zero consent. No.2, sharenting information may be used for vile purposes in some cases and there's a commerce component to that."

"So, there is money exchanging hands for these sorts of images and videos. And then No. 3, now it has become even more socially accepted to be commodified."

"Through sponsorships, parent influencers are now profiting from using images of their children online."

Laurel Cook, associate professor, John Chambers College of Business and Economics, University of West Virginia

Studies: kids will have well over 1,000 pictures of themselves on social media before they’re 5.  

Photo Illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images

 

In actual fact there is nothing new about this at all. People posting photographs on social media of young children have been advised for decades that those photographs have the potential to fall into wrong hands and that caution should be observed. What is now being termed "sharenting", the posting by proud parents of photographs of their clever, adorable, talented children certainly seems innocent enough to those who couldn't begin to imagine the ulterior motives of co-opting such photos for purposes other than parents meant them for.

Laurel Cook, social marketing and public policy researcher, has an article published in the Journal of Consumer Affairs, highlighting the dangers of uploading images of children and the risk such action carries. Questions with respect to consent and privacy, she points out, are in the beginning stages of study, yet to be fully understood. The global pandemic served to drive more face-to-face interactions online, making more people more vulnerable than ever before.

Parents, writes Ms.Cook, make the assumption that privacy settings suffice to protect photos they happen to upload. However, this does not appear to be the case in all instances; once a photo is shared online, it is there in circulation and won't be removed. Candid photographs taken by schools and summer camps are often used as spontaneous examples of situations and environments felt to be of benefit to children, the photographs embellishing a point being made. Without awareness of just what may be the outcome.

 

A lot of parents tend to share too much information about their kids online. (Source: Getty Images)

 

Posting photographs of attractive, active young children on line draws the attention of those that influencers want to attract, leading to a growing trend of social media being used to monetize the concept of a busy social aspirant and their offspring. Forming part of the research undertaken by Ms.Cook is a focus on dark design, a type of deceptive online interface employing design elements to make them attractive to purposefully manipulate users to click an option giving consent to data sharing.

Ppublic policy researcher, Laurel Cook, works with regulators on a shared recognition of what is meant to consent. In so doing, she anticipates being able to give assistance to parents and caregivers in the realization of risks of dark design and its enabling behaviour. Essentially, giving false assurances to parents and caregivers that uploading such sensitively intimate photos of young children is perfectly safe, when clearly that is not always the case.

"What's what makes me wake up excited every day to know that my work isn't just theory."

"It's something that might move the dial a little bit, to help things change or at least bring awareness to the situation and come up with solutions."

"I want this environment for children and teens to be addressed. I'm very passionate about it."

Laurel Cook, social marketing and public policy researcher

A mother is seen taking a selfie with her child. (Pexels)