“No moral integrity”: Influencer sharenting and parental protective perception

Abstract

Sharenting has been analyzed from different perspectives, introducing insights into the risks and opportunities of presenting children’s lives on social media. Researchers have addressed how this phenomenon impacts the lives of influencers, children, youth, and parents who engage in sharenting on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. From the perspective of “sharenters”, there is a common assumption that sharenting is not problematic, as they control and ensure the safety of children. However, some studies highlight the threats and consequences of this practice to the integrity of minors on the internet. In this paper, we analyze the perception of parents who are unfamiliar with the phenomenon of influencer sharenting on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, to understand their ethical concerns as seen from outside the communities of celebrity practices and their followers. Through a survey of 350 Ibero-American parents, we explored their opinions of this phenomenon, the reasons why they think influencers share their children’s lives, the potential risks, and whether there is a correlation between their use of social media and sharenting. Parents argued that there was a lack of moral integrity among influencers, and emphasized the importance of protecting children to avoid transforming them into promotional assets. We conclude that beyond the privacy policies of these platforms, further research should address how the unique affordances of these platforms impact children’s safety on the internet.