Ethics of “Sharenting”^[1]

A new generation of young adults is grappling with the consequences of having their childhoods documented online. Some are speaking out about the negative impacts of “sharenting” and family vlogging, practices where parents share extensive details of their children’s lives on social media, sometimes for monetary gain as social media influencers.

As the children have become adults, they have started a growing movement of young advocates pushing for legal protections for children whose images and stories are used for profit on social media. They’re calling for financial compensation for these children and the right to delete unwanted content when they become adults. Their efforts are gaining traction. In 2023, Illinois passed a groundbreaking law requiring parents to compensate child influencers, with several other states now considering similar legislation. These laws aim to treat social media influencing more like the film industry, where child actors have long had financial protections.

Chris McCarty, a 19-year-old advocate, founded the organization Quit Clicking Kids to combat the monetization of children on social media. McCarty points out that, unlike child actors who can separate work from home life, children of family vloggers often live in homes that feel like constant movie sets, with no escape from the camera.

Jessica Maddox, a professor from the University of Alabama, emphasizes that content creation is indeed work, and children featured in monetized content are essentially performing labor. Experts stress the need for parents to consider the long-term consequences of sharing intimate details of their children’s lives online.