The unintended consequences of ‘sharenting’ - Parenting Playbook - TV Interview

Updated; 2024

The term ‘Sharenting’ has become quite commonplace for social media savvy parents. But like anyone posting, parents too can be guilty of oversharing. Dad of three and founder of Dadspotting.com, Mohit Rajhans discusses this phenomenon and how parents can best protect their kids online.

The Impact of Oversharing

Many young adults are now grappling with the consequences of their parents' digital footprints. From embarrassing childhood photos to intimate details of their upbringing, these individuals find themselves navigating a world where their entire lives have been documented online without their consent. Cam Barrett, who was extensively documented by her mother, recalls, "I was in fourth grade, 9 years old, on September 9, 2009. My mom posted something like, 'Oh my God, baby girl's a woman today. She got her first period'".

Push for Legal Protection

Some of these young adults are now advocating for laws to protect children from parental oversharing. They argue that children should have the right to privacy and the ability to control their own digital presence as they grow older. As Mohit Rajhans, a digital expert and dad of three, emphasizes, "We have to remember that our kids are digital natives ... we’ve given them this extra backpack (a phone) that they carry and it’s loaded with tools" . Rajhans suggests that parents need to understand the media their children are consuming to effectively guide them.

Risks of Sharenting

The practice of sharenting can have serious implications:

Identity theft risks

Emotional distress from embarrassing content

Potential for online predators to gather information

Future employment or relationship complications

Mohit Rajhans speaks about Sharenting on social media.