Examining the scope and dimensions of sharenting in Europe and East Africa, as well as promoting children's rights and raising public awareness of the threats and challenges children face in the digital world are the main goals of the project by researchers from the University of Silesia under the EU Horizon programme.
Sharenting (share and parenting) is the publication by parents, via social media, of information that violates the privacy of a child. As the scientists point out, 'research shows that in Poland as many as 40% of parents share photos and videos of children online'. 'Our observations confirm this. However, the scale of sharenting is very difficult to determine due to the complexity of this phenomenon', they add.
The project GUARDIAN - 'Growing online - how to protect our children in the digital world?' was launched at the beginning of the year. It is conducted by two researchers from the Institute of Pedagogy at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Silesia in Katowice: Anna Brosch, PhD (project manager) and Anna Watoła, PhD (project manager for scientific quality assurance and risk monitoring).
Both researchers have been systematically conducting research in Africa for over 10 years, mainly in several regions of Kenya and in Tanzania. It concern the use of new technologies in the education process. This time, the researchers took up the scope and dimensions of sharenting in Europe and East Africa.
As the researchers point out, sharenting is becoming an increasingly common phenomenon, although its nature has changed.
'Initially, parents bragged about their children online or expected social support. Currently, thanks to celebrities and influencers, sharing has become commercialised and is used to make money. Regardless of its nature, however, the most important issue is forgotten - children's privacy in the online world', Anna Brosch and Anna Watoła emphasise.
Sharenting - they continue - exposes children to the risk of: loss of privacy (children have no influence on the information about them that is shared online, and this digital trace can be difficult to control later in life); identity theft (personal data can be used to steal identity, which can affect children's safety); exploitation (images and information can be used for commercial purposes); cyberbullying and harassment.
The researcher add that 'currently in most countries, including Poland, no policy protects children's right to privacy online, leaving it to parents to decide what information about their children can be shared'.
'Although parents are the first line of defence protecting their children's privacy, in many cases it is they who violate this privacy. Parents also seem to be unaware of the long-term consequences of their actions, considering the fact that deleting information posted on the Internet is not easy, and sometimes even impossible. And if they are aware, they simply ignore the potential threats. Since there are no legal possibilities to limit/prohibit parents from doing this, the only option is to educate them by spreading knowledge about sharenting and its consequences', the researchers emphasise.
Anna Brosch and Anna Watoła add that sharenting is a global phenomenon, although it is most visible in Western countries. 'In East Africa, parents do not have as wide access to the stationary Internet as in Europe, which is why they use smartphones more often than computers. However, this does not prevent them from being active on social media and posting information about their children. At the same time, they are also less aware of the consequences of sharenting. The protection of image and privacy is also perceived slightly differently (more liberally) there', they say.
Therefore, in addition to examining the dimension and scope of sharenting, the GUARDIAN project is also intended to promote children's rights and raise public awareness of the threats and challenges children experience in the digital environment, for example through meetings in schools and the project's social media pages.
According to the coordinators, the research team consists of scientists from five academic institutions from four countries: University of Silesia in Katowice (Poland), Pwani University (Kenya), The Polish University Abroad in London (the UK), Palacky University in Olomouc (Czechia), University of Szczecin (Poland). The project, which will continue until the end of 2028, is financed under the Horizon Europe Programme, MSCA Staff Exchanges. (PAP)
PAP - Science in Poland
akp/ bar/
