Let's talk about sharenting, this term according to Primicias comes from the English words “share” which means sharing and “parenting” which communicates paternity. Therefore, it is when parents share their children's photographs on the Internet. In fact, it is impressive that 81 % of babies have a presence on the Internet before they are six months old, according to the Open University of Catalonia. Many times, parental ignorance can cause irreversible consequences. Below, discover more about the impact of sharenting and valuable security tips to protect the privacy of the little ones.
Beginnings of sharenting
Infobae indicates that this phenomenon gained strength in the early 2000s, due to the growing popularity of social networks. Making fathers and mothers share content about their sons and daughters on different platforms. Today, this practice has gotten out of control. During 2022, more than 5.6 million photos of minors were shared online daily, demonstrating the seriousness of the case.
Impact of sharenting on childhood
- Fingerprint: It is the sum of the activities that are carried out online, what is shared, published, the websites that are visited. Primicias reports that, when uploading photos of minors, the content is almost impossible to delete, because it is stored on different servers and there are people who can take a screenshot to save this material.
- Harassment: A study from the University of Michigan estimates that 56% of parents post embarrassing photos, which can lead to bullying on social media or at school. In addition, photos can remain on the Internet for years, causing other people to use them to harass them some time later.
- Use of image without authorization: It happens when a photograph of a minor is used for commercial purposes. This means that a brand edits it and publishes it in its advertising material.
- Grooming: By sharing photos of minors, your identity, personal information and habits are more exposed. Which can make them victims of grooming, which refers, according to the newspaper La Hora, to a cybercrime, in which an adult sends images and generates sexual conversations. Before doing it, he gains the person's trust by lying about his age and sending gifts. This is to obtain intimate material, for different purposes such as: archiving it, selling it (child pornography) or using it to extort the victim.
- Identity theft – scams: According to the National Cybersecurity Institute, it consists of impersonating another person, spreading fraud and viruses, using an account, with a false profile, with the photograph and name of a minor. Even by sharing a minor's birthdays, scammers can use them to break into their parents' bank accounts.
Cybersecurity tips for parents
The Internet Matters organization indicates that the term cybersecurity means protection in the online space. Below we present several tips to guarantee it.
- Secure account creation: If parents have social networks, they must have secure passwords, verify that the profile is not public but private. Additionally, two-step authentication can be considered, which sends a key when logging into the account, either by call or message.
- Promote privacy: Avoid sharing content with intimate photos, with a swimsuit, or with personal information, such as full names, location of the house or frequently visited places, school uniform, do not take photos next to a vehicle and show the license plate. When taking a photo of a minor, you can choose to take it from their back, in backlight, or add an element that covers their face.
- Consent: Do not upload photos of other boys or girls without the consent of their parents. Also, when uploading a photo of a minor you should discuss it, they also deserve to share their opinion.
In conclusion, sharenting has become a common practice in the digital age. However, a simple action such as uploading a photo can have several risks as mentioned above, including harassment, identity theft, grooming, among others, affecting the privacy and safety of the little ones. For this reason, it is important that parents are informed about the consequences of sharenting so that they can take measures to mitigate it. Thus, when sharing any content, precautions can be taken and safe online practices followed.
