Posting parenthood: Patterns of sharenting and their impact on parent-child relationships

Michael Langlais; Chrystian Johnson; Briana Martinez

doi:10.29329/jsomer.76

Authors

Michael Langlais Baylor University, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8892-2808
Chrystian Johnson Grand Canyon University, USA
Briana Martinez Baylor University, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29329/jsomer.76

Keywords:

Social Media, Parents, Sharenting, Parent-child Rapport, Parent-child Conflict

Abstract

The goal of this study is to understand the prevalence of sharenting, which refers to parents’ posting their children on social media. Specifically, we identify what parents post about their children (ages 0 to 17) on social media, the frequency of posts about their children, why they post, and how these prevalence rates and motivations are associated with parent-child rapport. Data comes from parents who posted their children at least once a year on social media, recruited from Prolific (N = 470, 72.8% female). Parents were most likely to post their children on Instagram and Facebook, and least likely to post on TikTok and YouTube. Parents averaged posting about their children in approximately 2 of the last 7 days (1.86 of 7 days), and of their last 20 social media posts, approximately 7 contained at least one child (7.41 of 20 posts). Additionally, posting children on social media predicted increased parent-reported rapport between parents and children, as well as increased perceived conflict, particularly when children were posted on TikTok or YouTube. Suggestions for future research and implications for sharenting are discussed.

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