Work it baby! A survey study to investigate the role of underaged children and privacy management strategies within parent influencer content

Abstract

Nowadays, parents are increasingly drawn to establish a successful influencer status on social media. Being a parent influencer offers an alluring work environment, allowing them to combine devotion to their children and generating a considerable income. However, both scholars and policymakers raise significant concerns regarding the orchestrated and monetized nature of influencer sharenting, which involves sharing children’s personal information online. The present study, which surveyed 89 parent influencers from Belgium and The Netherlands, shows that children are omnipresent in their parents’ influencer content. The findings do not only uncover the underlying motivations driving influencer sharenting, but also reveal a low sharenting risk awareness. Building on parent influencers’ safe sharenting strategies, this study identifies three parent influencer types: reckless, safe, and authoritarian safe sharenters. This classification contributes to a better understanding of the heterogeneity of the parent influencer landscape and will foster the development of protective measures in favor of children’s wellbeing.