Sharenting and the Next Generation: Young Adults' Perceptions of Online Privacy

Parents and guardians are often positioned as the primary protections of children’s online pricacy and tasked with the role of safeguarding their personal information on the internet. These parental figures, however, can be the people most responsible for violating their child’s consent and shaping weak privacy-regulating habits. Analysis into how parental social media use during a person’s childhood can leave lasting impacts on their understanding of internet privacy is lacking. This study uses survey and interview data to examine how young adults perceive their parents’ or guardians’ posting habits and how those perceptions relate to their own privacy-regulating behaviors in adulthood. Consent and the formation of online autonomy were also key focuses of this study. Surveys (n = 540) and interviews (n = 4) were conducted with young adults revealing the following themes: (1) participants felt their parents regularly shared content about them online; (2) children felt a lack of control over their parents’ social media habits; (3) internet privacy habits in adulthood are shaped by various factors; and (4) willingness to post about future children. This work contributes to theory and holds practical implications for children's online protection. The conceptual model offers a framework for understanding how parental social media use can lead to the formation of online habits in adulthood. Analysis of both survey and interview data also advises future policy creation and more informed consent procedures for parental posting.