Parents today spend time on the internet as part of their daily lives, in this era of globalization. Since the baby’s first steps, the teenager graduated. This is the process that most parents write down and post on social media. It is so much a part of contemporary family life that people even make jokes about sharenting or sharing and parenting. This might seem harmless, and even endearing, but what it does to children in the long run is precisely the reverse. Every image, film, or story is a gem in a digital track. This digital identity can be compromised, and the privacy, security, and future of this identity can be threatened.
The parents’ life versus the integrity of the child regarding the right to privacy on the Internet. The good thing is that there are some useful tools that these can utilize to aid in striking the balance. One such solution is FonSee Parental Control, a fully comprehensive application that allows parents to restrict their children in their interactions with technology. FonSee not only tracks time on the screen but also enables parents to block content. FonSee monitors the utilization of all applications and sets healthy limits of use.
What is Sharenting?
Sharenting refers to the practice of parents sharing the lives of their children online.
It may include photos, videos, or personal postings on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or YouTube. Love or pride, or the need to be linked with fellow people, are the main reasons why most parents do it.
But cute posts are not limited to adorable posts. Any single upload creates a digital imprint on a child–an imprint that he or she did not consent to. One can add thousands of photos, birthdays, school activities, or even sensitive data to this footprint. This information can have an impact on the perceptions of other people of the child and can influence their privacy and safety in their future life.
Online parenting is demonstrated in Sharenting. It creates a digital imprint on various elements of daily life, and casts grave doubts on consent, security, and how the child will ever be allowed to exercise control of their own identity on the internet in adulthood.
Pros of Sharenting
● Assists parents in reaching their very distant relatives and friends.
● Keeps a digital scrapbook of photos and memories.
● Gets parenting help and encouragement online.
● Allow parents to rejoice in the milestones and achievements of their child.
● Makes us feel good and joyous by bringing joy to others.
The Risks of Sharenting: Parents should be aware of
1-Privacy Concerns
Posts and photos could talk about a child, his/her related interests, and habits. Even less valuable information as uniforms or localities, is sensitive information. This information could be used by strangers to stalk or perpetrate identity theft. What would appear to be harmless on the Internet can pose an actual threat, and privacy protection is another important element of responsible sharenting.
2-Digital Permanence You have a digital footprint that will remain permanently
In any case, offline posts do not fade away. Now, screenshots, shares, or archived information are still possible even after photos have been deleted. Something that is cute today may be embarrassing tomorrow, and how others may perceive the child. Digital footprints are hard to delete and can trail them through school, college, or work.
3-Consent and Autonomy
Children also have a right to their digital identity. In many instances, sharing the property of sharenting deprives them of that option, resulting in an online identity that they did not contribute to. This can lead to humiliation or ill will over time. Consent respect will create a feeling of trust and educate children on boundaries, computer privacy, and personal autonomy in a digital-first world.
4-Cybersecurity Threats
This practice of sharing leads to exchanging personal information, and the hacker can exploit it to commit such scams or fraud. This information may expose children to phishing attacks, identity fraud, or other crimes that happen through the Internet.
5-Emotional and Social Impact
Most kids can be embarrassed, teased, or even bullied when personal pictures or histories are posted without thought. Their relationship and trust can be overtaken by the process of Sharenting, especially when personal or confidential cases are released.
Why Does the Digital Footprint of Kids Matter?
A digital footprint has been defined as the record of information that a person leaves behind each time they use the internet.
Now we will see how the digital footprint of kids matters.
1-Posted Media
The most obvious aspect of the digital footprint of a child is posted media. The photos, videos, and captions that parents are posting online, be it the first smile of the newborn baby, a birthday party, or some hilarious time at home. Although these posts might not be harmful, there is a lot of personal information that you can find. An image of a child in a school uniform, say, may slip up and reveal the name of the school. A caption on a birthday can tell the age of a child. All these seemingly minor details, over time, create a complete online history of the life of the child.
2-Metadata
Metadata is the intangible handwriting of information on each digital posting. Although a photo may indicate nothing but a smiling child in the park, the data it holds may reveal the actual position of the child on the map, the time the photo was captured, and even the kind of equipment used. Parents might not be aware that this metadata is frequently accessible to other users when they post a photograph, depending on the settings on the platform. Such details can be used by cybercriminals and identity thieves to monitor habits. Identify where the child spends his or her time or obtain sensitive information about the daily life of the child.
3-Secondary Data
The secondary data is ignored most of the time, yet very important. This means information that is produced by people who are not even parents but are interested in their posts. Tagging of a child by his or her relatives, friends sharing their information about a child. They post, re-shared by friends, all add to the digital footprint of the child. Parents may be careful, but other people in their social circle will inadvertently reveal identifying information, like the nickname of a child, school, or neighborhood. With time, these little bits create a larger image of the child and their residence. In contrast to posted media, parents can control secondary data as the information is provided.
FonSee Sharenting Solutions
1-Strong Privacy Controls
FonSee enables parents to manage their children’s usage of apps and platforms. This will minimize the possibility of children sharing personal information online accidentally. Parents can control the permissions, and the online environment will be safer.
2-Content Filtering
The application blocks malicious or offensive applications and websites. In this way, it will ensure children are not exposed to unsuitable sites where their personal information or photos may be abused.
3-Screen Time Management
FonSee allows a parent to place a daily or weekly limit on device use. This makes sure that children are not spending too much time on the Internet, and the chances of sharing content increase.
4-App Monitoring
Parents can see what apps children are downloading and using. This enables them to block risky applications in which the sharing of photos, videos, and personal information is the norm.
5-Digital Activity Reports
FonSee can also give in-depth reports of how a child spends his or her device. This information allows parents to initiate dialogue on safe sharing and leads to more constructive habits in children.
6-Location Tracking
Parents are aware of the location of their child with real-time GPS tracking. This not only enhances safety offline but also helps children to avoid disclosing locations by posting information on social media.
7-Promoting Healthy Digital Citizens
Monitoring is made better with guidance: FonSee will teach parents how to instruct children about internet privacy, safe sharing, and the value of keeping their identity safe on the internet.
Healthy Sharenting Practices
When parents share without purpose, sharenting is safe and meaningful. Each article leaves an imprint on the digital life of a kid. Before posting, it is always good to stop and think.
Healthy sharenting has nothing to do with not celebrating or hiding progress. It concerns the problem of getting love with care. Parents are still able to enjoy, share, and connect–and to maintain the privacy and dignity of their child at all times.
Conclusion:
Sharenting allows parents to share their children’s lives, but in a responsible way. With each photo, each posting contributes to a new kind of digital identity that a child will bring into school, their friendships, and jobs. My parents were able to build an improved digital representation of the children with responsible consumption, privacy, and consent. This is more easily accomplished with services such as FonSee Parental Control, which includes privacy controls, activity monitoring, and sharing-facilitating mechanisms. People can even enjoy their memories online together without placing children into unneeded circumstances or risking their human and protective welfare, which is, of course, done considerately with the assistance of appropriate support.
