There was a time when uploading content online felt like a unique surreal experience. Grainy webcam selfies, overly filtered Instagram pics, or Tumblr reblogs that somehow felt deeply personal. We were the generation to grow up with social media networks as they developed and we didn’t necessarily think twice about what we shared or who was watching. Much of our social media privacy concerns developed as stories of catfish, online predators, and other general online creep activities became more known. Our online experiences were mostly positive outside of these cases. Now, many of us are parents. Instead of tagging ourselves in Myspace bathroom mirror shots, we’re tagging our kids in birthday posts and first-day-of-school portraits. It’s all meant with love. The name for this modern phenomenon is called sharenting, the act of sharing our children’s lives online. It starts as something wholesome, but for some parents, it becomes a full content stream shared with thousands of strangers. At what point does it become too much?

The Pioneers Of Social Media Networking

We learned the rules of the internet the hard way, by breaking them first. We lied that we were over 13 to bypass the registration requirements for most social media platforms. Posting embarrassing photos and actively trolling others anonymously was a norm. Our collection of content posted online was open for the public to see. Our experience was mostly positive as we found common ground and built niche communities through shared interests online. Posting content online was often very rewarding for nuanced things and our internet habits of sharing daily things carried over to how we present our kids regularly online.

From Cute to Concerning: The Unintentional Risks of Oversharing

Sharing our kids' first day of school is a proud wholesome moment along with other accomplishments we want to share with our families and friends online. However, some parents make these more intimate family moments publicly available as a form of parental influencing content to thousands of strangers. On the surface, it's a great way to bond with fellow parents raising kids in today's day and age. However, some of this family influencer content goes beyond the intended audience. It’s not just about creepy strangers that might stalk this content from afar, it can compromise our kids’ privacy and future reputations before they have a say in their online identity when they're older. Sharenting doesn’t always feel like oversharing in the moment. Years from now there's a chance our kids will question why their toddler tantrums and diaper blowouts are permanently preserved online and seen by strangers.

The Dark Impact Sharenting Has On Our Kids

The most extreme examples of sharenting come from parental influencers who serve as inspiration for parenting advice, but often some oversharing leads to criticism from viewers about the well-being of the kids featured. In rare but disturbing cases, oversharing crosses a line. Former influencer Ruby Franke became a viral cautionary tale when she was found guilty of child abuse behind the scenes of making her otherwise perfect family content that was enjoyed by millions. Every moment of her kids' lives was broadcast to the world leaving them little privacy. Ruby's eldest daughter, Shari, explained that much of her childhood, and that of her siblings, was used for content. They had no consent if they wanted to participate because they were subject to being punished by their mom if they retaliated. 

Neither we nor our kids necessarily have to be "influencers" for sharenting to pose a risk to them. Posting where our kids go whether it’s their school, daycare, or extracurricular activities can unintentionally expose them to strangers. If our accounts aren’t locked down to close friends and family, we may unintentionally share sensitive details with the public. This is where our experience of early social media and digital literacy comes into play to our advantage as we navigate sharing our kids online with balance.

Teaching Privacy by Modeling It

We don't need to exploit our kids' childhood for validation from strangers online. We can build online parenting communities while respecting the privacy of our kids. We pride ourselves on being more tech-savvy than previous generations. We also carry habits formed during the Wild West era of the internet. Habits like posting without considering the long-term impact regularly are just a routine for us. These routines created what would become sharenting as millennials became parents. This presents a new challenge for us, practicing the digital responsibility we hope to teach our kids. If we want them to grow up with healthy online boundaries, we must demonstrate what those boundaries look like starting with ourselves. At its core, sharenting isn’t inherently bad especially when the goal is to keep family and friends in the loop. It becomes more complicated when kids are turned into content. When parents share their children’s lives with thousands of strangers, they create a digital footprint without consent, one the child doesn’t understand and can’t control. Without a balance between visibility and privacy, the long-term impact can be more serious than we think.

Preparing Them For Their Digital Journey

It’s not just about us posting about our kids. Eventually, they’ll be posting as themselves. This is where tools like our router with a built-in parental control app come in. It’s not about spying or clamping down on them. It’s about guiding with teachable moments.  Helping kids develop smart digital habits will benefit them long-term and prepare them for future digital endeavors. With customizable features to monitor app usage, manage screen time, and pause access when needed, it becomes less about restriction and more about a balanced routine. The goal isn’t to control their experience but to prepare them for it. Sharing our kids' milestones isn’t wrong. Doing it mindfully, with an eye toward their future digital autonomy, is how we evolve as parents in a connected world. We learned through trial and error on the relentless early internet and social media platforms. Our kids don’t have to.