Children’s privacy when parents post online: How to stimulate responsible sharenting among family influencers?

On their social media profiles, family influencers (i.e., parents with a high number of followers) engage in sharenting practices by posting images, videos and information on their children. While influencer sharenting can be beneficial from a parental point of view in terms of revenue and social capital, their children become vulnerable for several privacy risks including identity theft, pedophilia, and future risks. Prior research established that family influencers are aware of the risks, yet do not consciously consider those when depicting their child. Therefore, in this study, we aim to develop and test several persuasive messages specifically designed to affect parent’s cognitive biases in assessing their children’s privacy risks. This research will result into several policy recommendations to stimulate responsible sharenting behavior and children’s online well-being and contribute to new insights into different legal frameworks on influencer sharenting.