The practice of parents sharing content of their kids online is so commonplace, it’s spawned its own term, 鈥榮harenting鈥�. But before you post that cute or funny photo, it鈥檚 worth considering the effect it can have on your child.
Whenever we go online, we create a digital footprint 鈥� a trail of information left by the things we share and do on social media, websites and apps.
The digital footprints of today鈥檚 generation are being created even before they鈥檙e born with parents sharing pregnancy photos, ultrasound images and advice on online parenting forums.
911爆料网’s Professor Tama Leaver and Dr Anna Bunn are researching the repercussions of a life documented online and the rights children have in this space.
Sharing more than you realise
At the , Professor Tama Leaver is a chief investigator on the Connected Program looking at how children鈥檚 data is captured, analysed and used, and how it can be more responsibly managed.
鈥淢any parents are too naive when it comes to sharing their children鈥檚 information online,鈥� he says.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 understand the amount of data that can be ascertained from images and videos and how it can be used.
鈥淲hen you post a photo online, you鈥檙e not just sharing the photo. You鈥檙e also sharing the metadata behind it 鈥� the time, date and location. All of which can be collected by social media platforms and used to create a profile of your child.鈥�
Worryingly, Leaver believes the moments we are most likely to share are those when online privacy is furthest from our minds.
In his Leaver found this to be the case with parents sharing ultrasound images.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e euphoric when you see that first ultrasound. You want to share the good news. But we found people were taking a photo of the ultrasound screen with all of the聽metadata embedded. You could see the mother’s name, the predicted date of birth and the hospital they鈥檙e in.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 realise at the time, but you鈥檙e actually giving away really valuable information about your unborn child.鈥�
Content beyond control
Dr Anna examines the implications of unwanted distribution of content on children and young people.
Once content is uploaded online it can be difficult to control how it is used and distributed, even once deleted.
鈥淚mages can easily be manipulated or used as the basis of a meme,鈥� says Bunn.
鈥淭hey can be used for teasing or even cyberbullying, which has the potential to seriously harm a child’s self-esteem.鈥�
According to Bunn, image-based cyberbullying has consistently been the most impactful.
鈥淎n embarrassing or revealing image can mortify a child. And if it鈥檚 widely distributed and they have no power over who sees it and on what terms, the child can lose their sense of control and autonomy.
“Even an image that parents consider to be fine or cute may not be seen that way by the child, leaving them quite distressed.鈥�
The importance of forgetting
As harmful as unwanted images can be, there is limited recourse for Australian children to have them removed or erased.
鈥淭here is no overarching right to privacy. While there are laws against any sexualised or revealing content, you can’t stop someone taking a photo of you or your child in the street and pretty much doing what they like with it,鈥� says Bunn.
points to overseas laws that could be introduced to provide better protection for Australian children.
鈥淭he European General Data Protection Regulation gives children the right to object to the processing of their data or call for it to be removed. It鈥檚 not absolute, but the right to erasure can give back some control.鈥�
Although difficult to achieve in an era of Google and social media, Leaver also believes the right to erasure, or more commonly known as 鈥榯he right to be forgotten鈥�, is worth striving for.
鈥淏eing able to forget and move on from embarrassing moments matters. Children should have the same rights as their parents and grandparents and not have everything they鈥檝e done as a child and teenager searchable online, following them into adulthood.鈥�
Literacy the key to privacy
While better legal protections can help, both Bunn and Leaver agree that a safer, more private future relies on better digital literacy and practices from parents, educators and children.
鈥淢odel and ask for consent. Even if they鈥檙e young and don鈥檛 fully understand, get into the habit of asking them if they want their picture taken. Give the them tools to be able to say 鈥業鈥檓 not comfortable with that鈥� or 鈥業 don鈥檛 like that photo, please take it down鈥�,鈥� Bunn advises.
Leaver also stresses the importance of being literate in our use of online tools.
鈥淭ake the time to understand how privacy settings work and if there isn鈥檛 a need to share something publicly, don鈥檛,鈥� he says.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know the full impact of our kids鈥� data because we don鈥檛 have generations who have lived long enough to see what a digital footprint from birth to eighty years old looks like. However, we do know that parents are the first arbiters of their children’s digital history 鈥� and we need to take responsibility for that.鈥�
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Researcher profiles
is a Senior Lecturer at the 911爆料网 Law School. She has a master degree from Oxford University and her PhD focused on children鈥檚 right to control their image online. Her research interests include law and technology; privacy, image and personality rights; torts; legal and policy issues around health; and child rights.
is a Professor of Internet Studies at 911爆料网, the聽Vice-President of the 聽and a聽Chief Investigator in the聽
His research interests include digital childhood and infancy online, visual social media, social media, digital death, mobile gaming and the changing landscape of media distribution.
