Parents' Social Media Habits: 2021
Over 75 percent of parents post children’s info on social media; eight in 10 parents have followers they’ve never met
Last Updated on Jul 16, 2024
Most parents share content about their kids, be it photos or videos, on social media. In 2012, The Wall Street Journal first coined the term “sharenting” to describe this phenomenon. Sharenting has many benefits, according to Stacey Steinberg, University of Florida law professor and author of the book Growing Up Shared. Parents can connect with faraway family and friends and build communities, networks, and online relationships.
Much like everything we do online, however, there are risks that come with sharenting. That includes identity theft and cyberbullying, among other things. To fully understand sharenting and its effects, we surveyed 1,000 parents and teens in the United States about their sharenting habits and attitudes towards the practice of sharenting. Here are our key findings:
- Over three-quarters of parents have shared stories, videos, or images of their children or stepchildren on social media.
- In these posts, over 80 percent of parents use their children’s real names.
- Less than a quarter of parents always get their children’s permission before posting content about them on social media, and about a third never ask for their permission.
- Nearly a quarter of parents have public settings on their social media apps, meaning that anyone can see what they post, even if they’re not friends.
- Nearly eight in 10 parents have friends or followers on social media that they have never met in real life.
How Common Is Sharenting?
The vast majority of parents share stories, videos, or images of their children or stepchildren on social media, according to our research.
| Have you ever shared stories, videos, or images of your child(ren) or step-child(ren) on social media? | Responses |
|---|---|
| Yes | 77% |
| No | 23% |
This correlates with data from Nominet that says that the average parent has posted almost 1,500 photos of their child before their fifth birthday.
Sharenting And Consent
Parents don’t always ask their children for consent before posting about them on social media. According to our study, only about a quarter (24 percent) of parents ask their children’s permission every time before posting. Not-so-shockingly, 29 percent don’t ask for consent at all.
| When sharing pictures, videos, or stories about your child(ren) or step-child(ren) on social media, how often do you ask them for permission before you publish it? | Responses |
|---|---|
| Every time | 24% |
| Most of the time | 26% |
| Some of the time | 21% |
| I never ask their permission | 29% |
We also surveyed teens, who confirmed that consent is usually not at the forefront of parents’ minds when it comes to sharenting.
| Has your parent or step-parent ever shared a story, image, or video of you on social media after you asked them not to? | Responses |
|---|---|
| Yes | 32% |
| No | 53% |
| I don’t know | 15% |
Lack of consent in sharenting is a problem, according to Steinberg, as parents shape their children’s online reputations without their permission. If you can, ask for your child’s consent before you post about them.
The Sharenting Audience
Nearly a quarter of parents have public social media profiles, meaning that anyone can see what they post.
| For the social media app that you use the most, what are your privacy settings? | Responses |
|---|---|
| Public (anyone can see what I post) | 24% |
| Private (only approved people can see what I post) | 57% |
| Friends of friends (friends of my contacts can see what I post) | 16% |
| I’m not sure | 3% |
More troublingly, only 22 percent of parents have met all of their social media friends or followers in real life.
| When thinking of all your friends and followers across all social media apps (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc.), how many of those people do you know in real life (people that you’ve met in person at least once)? | Responses |
|---|---|
| 100% | 22% |
| 75 – 99% | 42% |
| 50 – 74% | 24% |
| 25 – 49% | 6% |
| Less than 25% | 6% |
Even for those with private profiles, if you haven’t gone through your followers in a while, it’s possible that strangers can see your sharenting posts.
Consequences Of Sharenting
Depending on the parents’ device settings and social media platforms’ privacy policies, sharenting posts can have much farther reach than one might think. Additionally, many companies collect customer information to create targeted advertisements. Besides the data collection and lack of privacy, criminals can use sharenting posts for child pornography, digital kidnapping, identity theft and cyberbullying, in the worst-case scenarios.
Identity Theft
Identity theft isn’t just a problem for adults. Our research on child identity theft found that 14 percent of U.S. parents said that their children had had their identities stolen. The biggest risk for child identity theft, according to 53 percent of parents, is social media, which is why 42 percent of parents said they limit the information they post about their kids on social media.
Our research on sharenting, however, discovered that over 80 percent of parents use their children’s real names on social media. A person’s — even a child’s — name is a type of personally identifiable information that identity thieves can use to steal identities.
| When you post about your child(ren) or step-child(ren) on social media do you use their real names? | Responses |
|---|---|
| Yes | 81% |
| No | 19% |
Many parents may not realize that even posting their children’s full names puts them more at risk of identity theft, especially if they have public social media accounts.
>> Related Reading: Best VPNs for TikTok in 2024
Cyberbullying
Embarrassing posts can not only give kids anxiety, but other kids can also use them as ammunition for cyberbullying. When we researched cyberbullying during the COVID-19 pandemic, 21 percent of parents said that a child in their home had been cyberbullied. Unfortunately, rates of cyberbullying were higher for kids who used social media, with Snapchat being the social media platform that correlated the most with cyberbullying.
| Has your child been cyberbullied on any of the following social media platforms? | Not Sure | No | Yes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiktok | 57% | 51% | 64% |
| Snapchat | 63% | 55% | 69% |
| 49% | 33% | 49% | |
| 31% | 17% | 28% |
Learn more about cyberbullying statistics and cyberbullying resources.
Recap
Sharenting isn’t an inherently bad practice; rather, it makes sense that parents want to share information about their children with loved ones online. However, some practices, like posting children’s real names or posting without their consent, can lead to other online risks, like identity theft and cyberbullying, so parents on Facebook, Instagram, and the like should consider these before they post.
Final Thoughts
Our 2021 study showed that more than 75 percent of parents post information about their kids, an action known as sharenting. While sharenting isn’t an inherently bad practice, it can leave children exposed to security and personal risks. Posting a child’s name without their consent can lead to identity theft, cyberbullying, and so much more.
We found that sharenting most often happens on public or semi-public social media accounts – around 24 percent of parents have public profiles and 80 percent have followers they’ve never met in real life. This creates a lack of control around privacy and raises risks for unauthorized access to sensitive information.
We understand why you want to post your child online, but parents on Facebook, Instagram, and the like should consider the many risks before posting. Our study clearly showed the need for parents to be wary and vigilant of their digital habits. At the end of the day, it’s up to the parent to decide what they want to share. Just keep in mind that seemingly harmless digital habits like oversharing can damage a child’s privacy and reputation.
FAQs
What are the risks of sharenting?
Sharenting can come with many risks like identity theft, exposure to predators, cyberbullying, and more.
Is it wrong to post your child on social media?
It’s best to avoid sharing identifying information about your child in photos. Even their images alone can lead to negative drawbacks. While we can’t decide if it’s wrong morally for anyone, we can let you know that it does come with many risks.
Can you stop someone from posting pictures of your child?
Businesses and individuals can’t share photos of your child for commercial purposes without a parent or guardian’s consent. However, they may be able to post an image as long as there is no illegality with the type of content.
Can you sue someone for posting your child on social media?
It may be possible to sue someone for posting a photo of your child on social media. However, if you can win would largely depend on the details of the case.
Is it illegal to post a picture of a minor on social media?
It’s not illegal to post a picture of your child on social media. However, if the minor is not your child, it can result in legal repercussions. It’s crucial to consider the context, get consent, and follow privacy laws and social media policies.
Methodology
We conducted two surveys of 622 parents and 386 teens ages 13 to 17 from April 12 to April 13, 2021. We also included information from sources including McAfee, Kaspersky, the Wall Street Journal, and Nominet to supplement our original research.