Not long ago, sharing every detail of your child’s life online seemed not just normal but expected. Birth announcements with full names and birth weights, naked bath time photos, first-day-of-school pictures complete with the child’s full name and school location, potty training victories, report cards, teenage emotional breakdowns—all of it documented and broadcast to hundreds or thousands of followers.
Parents created elaborate digital archives of their children’s lives before those children could consent or even understand what was happening. Some children had extensive digital footprints—hundreds or thousands of photos, videos, and anecdotes—before they could walk or talk.
But something has shifted. In 2025, a growing number of parents are pulling back from sharenting—the practice of sharing details about their children on social media. What was once seen as harmless sharing of parental joy is increasingly viewed as a privacy violation with potentially serious consequences.
This isn’t about judgment or shaming parents who shared in the past (many of us did, with the best of intentions). It’s about evolving understanding. As we’ve learned more about digital privacy, data permanence, children’s rights, and the actual risks of oversharing, many parents are making different choices. Let’s explore why this shift is happening and what it means for families navigating digital life in 2025.
The Evolution of Sharenting: How We Got Here
To understand why sharenting is declining, it helps to trace how it became so prevalent in the first place.
When Facebook, Instagram, and other social platforms emerged in the mid-2000s, they offered something genuinely valuable to parents: connection. New parents, often isolated and overwhelmed, could share updates and receive support from friends and family across distances. Grandparents could watch grandchildren grow through photos and videos. Parents could find community with others experiencing similar challenges and milestones.
This sharing felt natural—an extension of how previous generations shared photo albums, mailed updates to relatives, or talked about their children with friends. The digital format simply made it easier and more immediate.
But several factors made social media sharing fundamentally different from previous forms:
Scale. Where you might have shown a photo album to a dozen people who visited your home, social media posts could reach hundreds or thousands, many of whom were barely acquaintances.
Permanence. Physical photos could be put away or destroyed. Digital content, once posted, exists essentially forever—copied, archived, and potentially accessible even after deletion.
Searchability. Unlike stories told at a dinner party or photos in someone’s drawer, online content is searchable, creating permanent, easily discoverable records.
Lack of control. Once something is posted, you lose control over it. Others can screenshot, share, or use content in ways you never intended.
Data harvesting. Every photo, caption, and detail becomes data that platforms use to build detailed profiles—not just of you, but of your children.
Audience ambiguity. Privacy settings change, accounts get hacked, “friends” you barely know have access, and even “private” accounts aren’t truly private.
Initially, few parents fully grasped these differences. We approached social media with the same casualness we’d approach showing photos to neighbors, not realizing we were creating permanent, searchable, widely accessible digital records of our children’s lives.
The Wake-Up Call: What Changed Parents’ Minds
Several developments have contributed to the decline in sharenting:
Privacy Breaches and Data Misuse
High-profile cases of data breaches, identity theft, and misuse of personal information made parents increasingly aware that “nothing is truly private online.” Stories emerged of children’s photos appearing on predatory websites, being used in advertising without permission, or being manipulated for fake accounts.
Parents realized that posting their child’s full name, birthdate, school, and other identifying details created vulnerabilities to identity theft and exploitation.
Children Speaking Out
Perhaps most powerfully, we’ve begun hearing from the first generation of “sharented” children—now teenagers and young adults—about how they felt about their lives being documented online without their consent.
Many expressed feeling violated, embarrassed, or angry. Some described being bullied using information or photos their parents shared. Others talked about the disconnect between their actual identity and the curated version their parents created online. Some have even taken legal action against parents for privacy violations.
These voices forced a reckoning: Do children have a right to privacy from their own parents’ social media habits? Do they have a right to control their own narrative and digital identity?
Research on Digital Footprints
Studies began examining the implications of children having extensive digital footprints before they can consent. Research highlighted concerns about:
- Identity formation: How does having your childhood publicly documented and narrated by others affect your sense of self?
- Autonomy and consent: What does it mean that major life decisions (creating a digital presence) are made for children without their input?
- Long-term implications: How might college admissions, future employers, or romantic partners use this information?
- Psychological impacts: What are the effects of growing up with constant digital documentation and public performance?
Platform Algorithms and Engagement Culture
Parents became more aware of how social media platforms incentivize engagement—often rewarding extreme, controversial, or salacious content with greater visibility. This created troubling dynamics where some parents, consciously or unconsciously, began exploiting their children’s private moments, struggles, or even trauma for likes, followers, and in some cases, revenue.
Stories of “family vlogger” channels exploiting children, sharing deeply personal struggles, or even staging content for engagement made many parents uncomfortable with the entire ecosystem.
Growing Understanding of Consent
Broader cultural conversations about consent—what it means, why it matters, and how it applies in various contexts—extended to parent-child relationships and social media. Parents began asking: If I wouldn’t share this about another adult without their permission, why is it okay to share it about my child who can’t consent?
This shift reframed sharenting from harmless sharing to a consent and autonomy issue.
The Risks: What Parents Are Protecting Against
The decision to reduce or eliminate sharenting is driven by awareness of several specific risks:
Digital Kidnapping
This occurs when someone copies photos of a child and reposts them, often pretending the child is theirs. These stolen photos are sometimes used for fake adoption scams, to create false identities, or, disturbingly, shared in predatory communities.
While extreme, it’s not rare—and it’s nearly impossible for parents to control once images are publicly posted.
Identity Theft
Children are actually prime targets for identity theft because the fraud often goes undetected for years until they apply for credit, loans, or jobs. When parents post birthdates, full names, locations, and other identifying information, they provide pieces of the puzzle identity thieves need.
Future Embarrassment and Bullying
The potty training accident story that seems cute at age three becomes ammunition for middle school bullies. The photo of your naked toddler that you found adorable could humiliate your teenager. What parents view as innocuous, children—especially as they grow older—may experience as deeply embarrassing or even traumatic.
Consider: Would you want your most embarrassing childhood moments permanently available for anyone to find with a simple search of your name?
Commercial Exploitation
Photos posted online can be scraped and used commercially—in advertisements, stock photo sites, or other contexts—often without the parent’s knowledge or compensation. Your child’s image could end up selling products or representing brands you don’t support, and you’d likely never know.
Loss of Control Over Narrative
When parents extensively document and narrate their children’s lives publicly, they shape the child’s identity and story in ways the child has no control over. The child becomes a character in the parent’s story rather than the author of their own.
This can affect how others perceive them, how they perceive themselves, and their ability to develop their own independent identity separate from their parents’ public version.
Data Aggregation and Profiling
Social media companies build detailed profiles based on all the information shared. For children whose lives are documented from birth, platforms may have more comprehensive data about them than about any generation in history—data that can be used for targeted advertising, sold to third parties, or utilized in ways we can’t yet anticipate.
Parental Exploitation
In extreme cases, sharenting crosses into exploitation, where parents monetize their children’s lives and private moments. Even when not directly monetized, the pressure to perform for content can be damaging to children’s wellbeing and development.
The Shift: What Conscious Digital Parenting Looks Like
Parents reducing sharenting are finding alternative ways to document family life and maintain connections while protecting their children’s privacy:
Private Sharing Alternatives
Rather than posting to social media, many parents use:
Photo-sharing apps with limited, controlled access. Apps designed for family photo sharing allow you to control exactly who sees content, don’t harvest data for advertising, and don’t make content searchable or public.
Private group messaging. Sharing photos and updates via group texts or messaging apps with select family members provides connection without public exposure.
Email updates. Some parents send periodic email updates to close family and friends, sharing photos and stories in a more private, controlled format.
Physical photos and albums. There’s been a small resurgence of printed photo books and albums shared in person rather than digitally—a return to pre-digital norms.
Thoughtful Posting Guidelines
For parents who do choose to post about their children, many now follow stricter guidelines:
No identifying information. Avoiding full names, birthdates, school names, locations, or other details that could be used to identify or locate children.
No photos showing faces. Some parents share photos from behind, at a distance, or with faces obscured—documenting moments without sharing identifying images.
The “ask permission” rule. Once children are old enough (many parents start around age 5-7), asking if they’re okay with a photo or story being shared online. Respecting “no” as an answer.
The “future embarrassment” test. Before posting, asking: “Would I be embarrassed if this was shared about me? Would my child be upset about this being public when they’re a teenager or adult?” If the answer is yes, don’t post.
Privacy settings maximized. Ensuring all social media accounts are private with carefully curated follower/friend lists, though recognizing these settings are imperfect protection.
Avoiding vulnerable moments. Not sharing children’s emotional struggles, disciplinary issues, medical information, or other private, vulnerable situations—even if seeking support. These can be discussed in private forums or with close friends rather than broadcast publicly.
Digital Minimalism for Children
Some families embrace digital minimalism regarding their children:
No social media presence. Children have no digital footprint beyond what’s absolutely necessary (school websites, etc.) until they’re old enough to manage their own online presence.
Separate adult social media. Parents maintain social media accounts but simply don’t post about their children, keeping those worlds separate.
“Their story to tell.” Parents preserve memories privately (photos on personal devices, private cloud storage) but leave it to children to decide whether and how to share their lives publicly once they’re old enough.
Teaching Digital Literacy and Consent
As children grow, parents focused on privacy protection also teach them about:
Digital permanence. Explaining that what goes online stays online, even if deleted.
Privacy concepts. Discussing why some information is private and what could happen if it’s shared.
Consent and boundaries. Teaching that they have a right to say no to photos and sharing, and that they should respect others’ boundaries similarly.
Critical evaluation. Helping them understand that social media presents curated, often unrealistic versions of life, not reality.
Their own choices. As they approach teen years, supporting them in making informed choices about their own social media use rather than either forbidding it entirely or allowing unlimited access.
The Practical Side: Navigating Family and Social Expectations
Reducing sharenting can create social friction. Here’s how parents navigate common challenges:
Dealing with Extended Family
Grandparents who want to share. Many parents now explicitly request that grandparents and other relatives not post photos or information about their children online. This conversation can be awkward but is increasingly normalized.
Some provide alternative sharing methods: “Please don’t post these photos on Facebook, but feel free to text them to friends or print them to show people.”
The “offended aunt” phenomenon. Some relatives feel hurt when asked not to share or when they see parents have reduced sharing. Parents navigate this by explaining it’s about protecting the child’s privacy and future autonomy, not about lack of pride or wanting to hide their family.
Managing Social Comparisons
When all your friends are posting elaborate birthday parties, milestone celebrations, and adorable daily moments, choosing not to can feel isolating or like you’re somehow not celebrating your children adequately.
Parents protecting privacy often need to remind themselves:
- Celebration doesn’t require documentation or public sharing
- Your children will remember the experience, not whether it was posted
- Real connection happens offline
- Not sharing doesn’t mean not valuing or enjoying these moments
Alternative Ways to Remember
Concerns about “not remembering” without social media documentation are valid. Parents find other approaches:
Private journaling or blogging. Writing about experiences in private journals (digital or physical) creates records without public sharing.
Photo organization systems. Using photo management apps to organize, tag, and preserve photos privately.
Annual photo books. Creating printed photo books annually preserves memories in tangible form.
Memory conversations. Talking with children about their experiences and memories, recording these conversations if desired, creates living family history without public documentation.
The Pushback: Common Arguments Against Privacy Protection
The shift away from sharenting has met resistance. Common arguments and responses include:
“I’m just proud of my kids and want to share that joy.”
Response: You can absolutely be proud and share joy without creating a permanent public record of your child’s private life. Share with people who know you and your child personally rather than broadcasting to hundreds of acquaintances or strangers.
“My account is private, so it’s fine.”
Response: Privacy settings are imperfect. Accounts get hacked, friends screenshot and share, settings change, and “private” still means potentially hundreds of people see your content. Additionally, the platforms themselves still harvest all this data.
“Kids today won’t care because everyone’s life is documented.”
Response: We’re already hearing from the first generation of sharented kids that many do care, deeply. And even if it becomes normalized, that doesn’t necessarily make it ethical or beneficial. Normalizing privacy violations doesn’t make them acceptable.
“I need support and connection with other parents.”
Response: You can absolutely seek and receive support without publicly sharing identifying information or photos. Private groups, anonymous forums, and conversations with real friends can provide support while protecting your child’s privacy.
“It’s my child, so it’s my right to share about them.”
Response: This argument is increasingly questioned. While parents have authority over many aspects of their children’s lives, creating a permanent public record that will affect the child long into adulthood—without their consent—raises ethical questions about rights, autonomy, and the limits of parental authority.
The Legal Landscape: Emerging Rights and Regulations
The legal framework around sharenting is evolving:
Children’s digital rights legislation. Some jurisdictions are considering or have passed laws protecting children’s digital privacy, including from their own parents’ sharing.
“Right to be forgotten” advocacy. Some activists and legal scholars argue children should have the right to have content about them removed when they reach adulthood, particularly if shared without their consent.
Custody agreements addressing social media. Increasingly, custody agreements explicitly address what can and cannot be shared online about children, recognizing this as a meaningful aspect of parenting decision-making.
Precedent-setting cases. A few cases of now-adult children suing parents over childhood sharenting are establishing legal precedents about consent, privacy, and parental responsibilities in digital contexts.
While legal frameworks lag behind technology (as usual), the direction seems clear: children’s digital privacy rights are increasingly recognized as legitimate and deserving of protection—even from well-meaning parents.
Looking Forward: Digital Childhood in 2025 and Beyond
As we navigate 2025, several trends are clear:
The pendulum is swinging toward privacy. After a decade-plus of increasingly public, documented childhood, we’re seeing correction toward privacy protection and children’s autonomy.
Generational learning curve. Parents who grew up with social media have different awareness than those who didn’t. The first generation of sharented children are becoming parents themselves, often with strong views shaped by their own experiences.
Platform evolution. Some platforms are introducing features specifically designed to protect children’s privacy, responding to user demand and regulatory pressure.
Cultural shift. What was once seen as normal and even expected (posting about your kids online) is increasingly questioned, with privacy protection becoming more socially acceptable and even admired.
Education and awareness. Schools, pediatricians, and parenting resources increasingly address digital privacy and sharenting as standard topics, not fringe concerns.
Conclusion: Protecting What Matters Most
The decline in sharenting isn’t about being anti-technology or anti-social-media. Most parents reducing their sharing still use these platforms for their own lives. It’s not about shame or judgment of parents who shared in the past, often before these issues were widely understood.
It’s about recognizing that our children are separate people who deserve privacy, dignity, and control over their own narratives and digital identities. It’s about acknowledging that what seems harmless or even beneficial to us as parents might feel very different to our children—now or in the future.
It’s about understanding that in our enthusiasm to document and share every precious moment, we may inadvertently be violating our children’s privacy, shaping their identities without their consent, and creating vulnerabilities we can’t fully anticipate or control.
The question isn’t whether you love your children enough to share about them (of course you do). It’s whether loving them means protecting their right to grow up without having every moment of their childhood documented and broadcast without their consent.
As one teenager whose childhood was extensively sharented put it: “I love that my parents were proud of me. I just wish they’d told me that privately instead of telling the entire internet.”
In 2025, more parents are hearing messages like this and making different choices—not out of fear or paranoia, but out of respect for their children’s privacy, autonomy, and future selves. They’re finding that they can still document family life, maintain connections, seek support, and celebrate their children—all while protecting what matters most: their children’s right to write their own stories when they’re ready.
The memories will still be there. The love will still be evident. The childhood will still be celebrated. It just won’t be broadcast for public consumption.
And increasingly, parents are recognizing that this isn’t a sacrifice—it’s a gift.
Further Reading:
Children’s Commissioner for England – “Who Knows What About Me? A Children’s Rights Impact Assessment of Information Sharing” https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/digital/
