Sharenting — a blend of "sharing" and "parenting" — refers to parents' habitual use of social media to share news, photos, videos and detailed information about their children.

Titled “Small Shares, Big Risks: How Parents Assess Threats and Cope with Sharing of Children's Data”, the study found that parents' frequency of posting photos and videos increases as their motivation to practise online safety declines.

"Our analysis examined the relationship between parents' sharing behaviours and their attitudes towards digital safety. Across different analytical methods, we observed a consistent pattern showing that as the frequency of sharenting increases, motivation to adopt protective measures declines. This suggests a behavioural gap, where greater online exposure of children is not matched by stronger efforts to safeguard their data and privacy," said Associate Professor Jiow Hee Jhee, Deputy Director of the Teaching and Learning Academy at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT).

Convenience versus security: a constant tug of war

The research found that parents across APAC and Egypt are generally aware of the need to protect their children's and families' privacy online, but many consider the necessary security measures inconvenient.

A large majority (87 per cent) agreed that limiting social media visibility to family and close friends reduces privacy risks, yet nearly half (49 per cent) said the process is time-consuming. Four in five respondents (80 per cent) believed that removing sharing permissions helps protect privacy, but 40 per cent said doing so requires effort.

In addition, more than eight in 10 respondents (83 per cent) believed that turning off metadata and geotagging protects their privacy, although more than one-third (36 per cent) considered it time-consuming.

"Humans are hardwired to prioritise convenience and immediate rewards, largely because of our innate survival instinct. This explains why we have little patience for delayed gratification. In our research, some of the parents we surveyed found changing privacy settings on social media or removing location tags from apps cumbersome.

Parents acknowledge that digital security is important, but the effort required to implement it creates constant friction. Since parents believe they are capable of practising safe sharenting despite the time and effort involved, cybersecurity education should demonstrate that these safety practices are simple to carry out, helping reduce their perceived barriers," said Trishia Octaviano, Senior Manager for Cybersecurity Education, Asia-Pacific, at Kaspersky.

Modern digital parents: confident yet aware of their vulnerability

When asked about their confidence in managing the privacy risks associated with sharenting, more than four in five parents said they were capable of keeping identifiable information off their posts and accounts. However, nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) also believed they remained vulnerable to hackers.

Kaspersky experts recommend the following steps to help families better protect their digital privacy:

• Delete old accounts that are no longer in use.

• Set social media accounts to private if you do not intend your profile to be publicly accessible.

• Regularly review the privacy settings on your social media accounts, as they may change over time. Also review your contacts, past activities and profile visibility.

• Think carefully before sharing any personal information online and consider whether it could be used against you.

• Avoid revealing your location in posts and remove metadata from photo files before sharing them.

• Consider removing posts that reveal your child's frequently visited or significant locations.

• Actively monitor your child's online activities.

• Use parental control tools such as Kaspersky Safe Kids, which helps parents manage screen time, monitor device usage, track locations where appropriate, restrict inappropriate content and more through a single application.

"Parents who share more about their children online often become more comfortable with digital platforms, which can lower their perception of risk and reduce their motivation to practise digital safety measures," said Associate Professor Jiow.

"Ultimately, how parents think about sharenting shapes how they protect their children's digital privacy, highlighting the importance of educating parents about the risks associated with sharenting"./.