What is Sharenting and Why You Need to Stop This Practice Immediately ?

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Sharenting, a contraction of the English words “share” and “parenting”, refers to the practice of parents who regularly publish content featuring their children on the internet. The figures for this practice are alarming: more than one in two parents engage in it. Result? On average, 1,300 photos of a child circulate online before they turn 13.

This early overexposure is not without consequences. It raises serious ethical questions and poses real security concerns. Here's why you should think twice before sharing the next photo of your offspring.

The hidden dangers behind a simple click

The first problem is obvious: privacy. A child's digital identity should not be constructed without their consent. In France, the digital majority is set at 15 years old. Before this age, the child does not have the legal capacity to decide what can be shared online about him.

But beyond this ethical question, the risks are very real and sometimes chilling. Once published, a photo can be saved, shared again, and end up in malicious hands. The cases of misappropriation are numerous and varied:

• cyberbullying: an innocuous photo can become a weapon in the hands of harassers.
• identity theft: Criminals create fake profiles using photos of children found online.
• child pornography networks: Even non-sexualized images can be misused by predators.
• deepfakes: With the advancement of AI, the risk of images of children being manipulated into pornographic contexts increases.

It's not just nude photos that are a problem. A seemingly innocent snapshot can reveal a wealth of sensitive information: the school you attend, extracurricular activities, or even your home address. These details, when added together, can put a child in danger.

The CNIL (National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties) is also sounding the alarm. It is receiving more and more complaints from young adults wanting to have content published by their parents when they were minors removed. These young people are horrified to realize the extent of their online exposure, sometimes since their earliest childhood.

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Imagine for a moment: you are looking for a job, and your future boss comes across photos of you as a child, naked in the bath. Or worse, embarrassing comments from your parents detailing your childhood mischief. These posts can harm your reputation, dignity, and future opportunities.

The problem is all the more worrying because these contents are almost impossible to removeonce online. Even if you delete a post, it may have been saved, shared, or indexed by search engines.

How to find the right balance ?

So what to do ? Should we ban all photos of children from social networks ? Not necessarily. But it is urgent to rethink our practices. Here are some tips that experts recommend:

• Ask your child's opinion if they're old enough to understand. And don't forget the other parent's consent—it's the law.
• Avoid any intimate or potentially embarrassing content.
• Hide the child's face, for example with an emoji.
• Never mention the child's full nameor personal details.
• Use private messaging to share with your loved ones.
• Set your accounts to private mode on social networks.

If despite these precautions, you face a delicate situation (such as a photo that cannot be removed), do not hesitate to contact 3018. This free and anonymous number helps young victims of digital violence and their families.

Sharenting often starts with good intentions: to share pride, stay in touch with distant family, or simply to document precious childhood moments. But in the digital age, caution is still in order. Our children have the right to define their own digital identities. It is up to us, parents, to preserve this right and protect them from the dangers of the web.

• Sharenting exposes children to real risks: identity theft, cyberbullying, and even exploitation by pedophile networks.
• Content shared online is almost impossible to erase and can harm the child's future reputation.
• Prioritize private sharing, hide faces, and always ask the child and the other parent for their opinion before publish.

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