The Issue of Sharenting

What is the most valuable item in homes today?

It might be an individual’s shiny, classic car out front in the driveway or the multi-karat diamond ring sitting in the jewelry box. Is it a first edition book? Or grandpa’s Rolex? What about that sweet gaming system or the collector’s item still in its box tucked away in the cabinet?

Whatever it may be for each person or family in America, that high-ticket item – whether it holds financial or personal value – is treasured.

Now, if it were your most prized possession, would you trust it with thieves or other individuals with ill intentions? Would you share your address with them, knowing you wouldn’t be home, so that they can enjoy your favorite treasures?

Better yet, would you let those same malicious individuals near your children?

Of course not!

So, why are today’s parents freely giving away their children’s information on social media to ill-intentioned onlookers?

Recent studies have found that most Americans consider family to be one of the most important and valuable things that they have been given.

A recent 2025 Gallup poll recorded that when it came to Americans’ most important values, family came in as a top winner with “49% identifying it as one of their three top values, personally.”

Meanwhile, a 2023 Pew Research study found that, “About three-quarters of U.S. adults (73%) rate spending time with family as one of the most important things to them personally, regardless of how much time they actually devote to it.”

Thanks to Adam, Eve, and the slippery serpent, we all live in a fallen world. And in 2025, this fallen world and social media are filled with hackers, impersonator accounts, Artificial intelligence (AI) dangers, and online criminals.

Social media used to be a safe place to connect with out-of-state family members, but has now become a hotbed for criminals to connect, recruit, and conduct their business. The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs shared its research that stated:

“Criminals patrol social media looking for ways to exploit the personal information of an individual or family for financial gain. Burglars can peruse the personal information of families in their vicinity to determine when they will be absent from their houses. Another criminal technique for exploiting users of social media is the use of “social engineering,” which refers to the social and psychological manipulation of individuals and groups to promote personal or political goals based on fraudulent claims and information.”

Unfortunately, many parents today are unknowingly providing these criminals with personal information about their children through “sharenting.”

“‘Sharenting’ refers to the act of digital oversharing, of excessively posting information, pictures, stories or updates about your child’s life. In most cases, parents engage in sharenting with the purest of motives. But it can have unintended consequences for their kid’s privacy, safety, mental health, social relationships and future prospects,” a Cleveland Clinic article explained.

Just this week, numerous back-to-school posts have been made online. Most parents are sharing their child’s age, class, school, teacher’s name, and more. Parents and children alike are excited about the new school year and other educational milestones – as they should be!

However, by posting such specific information, parents may not realize that they are also providing fuel for thieves. Just by posting that one picture, predators know precisely what the child looks like, their age, location, and homeroom. Everything on social media – or screenshots taken from social media – lasts forever. Once the criminals have that information, parents won’t be able to take back what they have posted. Instead, they have given them the information about their child.

Another danger of sharing photos online is the danger of deepfakes. Deepfakes are digitally altered photos that make individuals appear to be doing something that they never did. These images can also be changed to appear sexually graphic. Meaning, those innocent vacation pictures of the kids on Facebook can change in the blink of an eye if they fall into the wrong hands.

What can parents do to help protect their children from these dangers?

• Think before sharing. What does this picture say? Are there indicators about where the children will be, especially without parental supervision? Does it share their age? If so, keep the informative picture for the family album, and a simple picture of the child without such informative details for social media.
• Choose faceless pictures to share. That little one’s face is precious and unique; they shouldn’t have to worry about their likeness being doubled and shared with the world.
• Don’t post it if there is a sliver of doubt. If it were you, would you want the entire world to see you in a bathtub or a swimsuit?
• Check privacy settings. Is the account private? While this can be helpful, it does not guarantee that only individuals with good intentions will view the photos. Do you trust everyone on your follower/friends list? Impersonator accounts run wild on social media. Individuals with ill intentions may use these accounts to collect information disgused as someone you think you know.
• Set boundaries. While grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others may also want to share images or videos of your children, their friends’ list gives more opportunities to be seen by individuals you may not know.
•  Consider not posting your children online. The world is only growing darker. Find an alternative way to share pictures with those you trust. Instead of posting online for the world to access, consider sending a group text to friends and family or starting a shared album on your smartphone with these trusted individuals. Bring back wallet prints to share!

Our children are the greatest treasure we have been given. If we don’t protect them from online harms, no one will. It’s time to stand up for them.

But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea (Matthew 18:6).