“Say Instagram, Kids!”: Examining Sharenting and Children's Digital Representations on Instagram

The new phenomenon of sharenting, the overuse of social media by parents who share content of their children, has increased children's digital representations on social media, especially Instagram. In order to understand how they are digitally portrayed, a content analysis of 510 Instagram photos was conducted. Applying self-categorization theory, this exploratory study focused on how parents are gender stereotypically and racially categorizing their children into ingroups and outgroups. Results indicated that although the visibility of marginalized groups, such as females and ethnic minorities, has increased, they were also shown to sustain gender and racial stereotypes that can be in traditional media. This study discusses the importance of studying children on social media and how their representations can question digital ethics and importance of digital literacy skills.