Sharenting in an Evolving Digital World: Increasing Online Connection and Consumer Vulnerability

Ong, L Lin, Fox, Alexa, Cook, Laurel, Bessant, Claire, Gan, Pingping, Hoy, Mariea, Nottingham, Emma, Pereira, Beatriz and Steinberg, Stacey (2022) Sharenting in an Evolving Digital World: Increasing Online Connection and Consumer Vulnerability. In: 2022 AMA Marketing and Public Policy Conference: The Role of Marketing in Imagining a Better Post-Pandemic World: Addressing Structural Disparities, Sustainability and Social Change. American Marketing Association, United States, pp. 237-239. ISBN 9780877570134

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Abstract

Sharenting (using social media to share content about one’s child) is a progressively common phenomenon enabled by society’s increased connection to digital technology. Although it can facilitate positive connections among internet users, it also leads to concerns related to children’s online privacy and well-being. This paper establishes boundaries and terminology related to sharenting in an evolving digital world. First, while much of the prior sharenting research focuses on the parent-child dyad, we apply consumer vulnerability theory to conceptualize a modern sharenting ecosystem involving key stakeholders (parents, children, community, commercial institutions, and policymakers). This expanded ecosystem extends the sharenting literature to better define the complex dynamism inherent in sharenting as part of our increasingly virtual society. Next, we expand the characterization of sharenting by introducing a spectrum of awareness that categorizes types of sharenting (active, passive, and invisible). These definitions help researchers explore how and why personally identifiable information (PII) may be (un)intentionally shared in different contexts. Finally, using the conceptual structures developed in this paper, we provide a research agenda for policymakers and consumer welfare researchers

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