Kaspersky and the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) conducted a in-depth study on the perspectives and behaviors of parents who regularly share their parenting journey online.
The study titled "Simple sharing, Unpredictable risks: How parents assess threats and respond when sharing children's data" was conducted based on online feedback from Egypt, Hong Kong (China), India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.
Parents' concerns and anxieties about "Sharenting
Sharenting" is a term referring to parents posting images, videos and information about their children or their parenting journey on social networks and online platforms. A new Kaspersky study shows that 75% of parents surveyed in the Asia-Pacific and Egypt regions believe that their posts are likely to be exploited by others.
Similarly, more than 7 out of 10 parents believe that strangers can identify where their family lives (74%) as well as the school their children are attending (73%) by relying on information from posts.
Most parents (80%) also believe that data being used for the wrong purpose can lead to serious consequences. At the same time, 82% are concerned about the unwanted consequences of accidentally revealing their children's whereabouts.
Although clearly aware of the privacy risks associated with "sharenting", research by Kaspersky and the SIT Institute also shows that parents offer many different views on sharing content related to their children online.
Half of the survey participants said they felt empathy and connection with other parents when sharing about their children, while the other half did not have that feeling.
Similarly, 5 out of 10 parents said that words of encouragement and positive feedback about their children on social networks bring them positive emotions, while the remaining 5 people have the opposite view. Some parents feel recognized and encouraged in their role as parents (48%), but there are also those who do not feel that way (52%).
Although nearly half of the participants (48%) admitted they felt comfortable sharing important moments and memorable milestones of their children, the majority (82%) said they did not regularly update family milestones on social networks.
This shows that many parents are going through a period of struggling with the "sharenting problem". They see the benefits of sharing, maintaining social connections, receiving support from the community and seeking recognition, but at the same time still choose a more cautious approach to posting information about their children.
Advice
To continue "sharenting" more safely, Kaspersky experts recommend:
- Delete old accounts that are no longer used.
- Set up an account in private mode if you do not need to publicize your personal profile.
- Take time to learn about privacy settings on social media and regularly check these terms because they can change constantly. Review contact lists, past activities, and profile scope.
- Before disclosing any information, consider whether that information could be used by bad guys to attack you or your family.
- Be careful when turning on positioning mode in articles and proactively delete metadata from photo files.
- Consider removing posts that reveal places your child frequents (e.g.: school, sports club).
- Proactively monitor online activities of children.
- Use specialized tools to make parental management easier, including tracking location, managing device usage habits, limiting inappropriate content, and balancing screen usage time.
