Psychological Consequences of Sharenting: A Case Study

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to the examine the new concept of “sharenting”, which emerged when parents shared their children‘s photos on social media, and to evaluate the possible consequences of sharenting for the children. Materials and Methods: Case study method, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in this study. All the posts of an Instagram mother reached by the criterion sampling method were analyzed. Document analysis, frequency analysis and descriptive analysis methods were used in the analysis of the photographs and themes were emerged. Results: In the study, it was seen that most of the posts of the social media celebrity mom on the social media account were the photographs of her child (83%). Four themes, which were private/confidential information, private clothing, emotional moments and commercial purposes, were determined after descriptive analysis. Conclusion: The obtained themes were discussed in the context of the child’s safety and the possible harms of sharing their private information.