Why We Should Be Careful About Celebrating Milestones Online: What Parents Should Know About Sharenting
Here’s why Ireland’s released a campaign about the risks of sharenting
A recent campaign from Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) is urging parents to “pause before you post.” Dubbed the Pause Before You Post campaign, it shines a light on a growing online-parenting phenomenon: sharenting — the frequent sharing of children’s photos, videos, and personal details on social media.
For many millennial parents around the globe, sharing milestones and cute moments feels love-filled, harmless, and even celebratory. But the DPC reminds us there are shadows behind those sweet snapshots — not to alarm you, but to invite mindful parenting in the digital age.
What Sharenting Looks Like and What’s at Stake
According to Ireland’s DPC, sharenting can unintentionally build a lasting digital footprint for a child. Sometimes, it’s even long before they can understand or consent.
Examples of what that footprint might include: their name, birthdate, school, sports club, friends’ names, routine schedules, selfies — even mundane walking-home-alone paths. All innocently shared, but together enough to draw the attention of strangers and leave them open to misuse. In other words, whatever we upload online about our kids, we’re implying our consent for people to use for other things.
The DPC’s campaign dramatizes that risk: in one widely praised ad, strangers in a shopping centre recognize and speak to a child — just from what her parents posted online. It’s a visceral reminder that once something goes online, control becomes tricky.
For Modern Parents: Why This Matters Even If You’re Far from Ireland
Even if we’re not in Ireland, the Philippines is one of the countries with the most social media users. In fact, some families even use sites like Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) as their source of trending and daily news. According to DataReportal, the Philippines has over 95.8 million social media users.
Other things to consider include:
- Borders don’t limit global connectivity. Once images and data are online — anything from a first-day-of-school photo to a family-vacation video — they can be copied, shared, and searched.
- Digital footprints last longer than childhood. What seems like a fleeting memory today could become something your child needs to explain, contextualize, or even regret later.
- Consent matters more than ever. Children, especially as they grow, have a right to privacy. Teaching them early about data ownership and control gives them a powerful tool.
- Mindfulness ≠ fear; it’s respect. This isn’t about turning into paranoid parents — it’s about conscious choices.
Practical Ways Parents Can “Pause Before Posting”
- Share selectively: Keep photos and updates inside private chats or closed-group platforms, rather than public feeds.
- Skip the personal details: If you share a photo, avoid metadata like full name, school name, club locations, birthdays, or regular routines.
- Wait for growing consent: As children age, involve them in what gets posted — let them decide what stays in the feed, and what doesn’t.
- Teach them about digital privacy: Make conversations about data protection part of raising kids, not just cleaning up privacy settings.
- Archive carefully: When you do post, consider keeping a private digital album for family — not the whole world.
There’s nothing wrong with celebrating parenting wins
As parents, we want to celebrate every milestone — first steps, wobbly smiles, recital wins, and messy cake-smash days with everybody else. But what feels like a tiny digital footprint today can grow into something bigger than we imagined.
The DPC’s message isn’t about fear. It’s about awareness. Sharenting may be born of love and pride — but empathy means thinking ahead, for our children’s privacy, their future, and their control over their own story.
If you share carefully, thoughtfully, and with respect, the memories are still yours to keep.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Sharenting refers to parents regularly sharing photos, stories, or personal information about their children online. It’s often done out of love, but it can unintentionally create a lasting digital footprint.
The DPC launched its Pause Before You Post campaign to remind parents that children’s personal information can be misused once posted publicly. Even innocent details can reveal routines, locations, or identity.
Not always — but oversharing can expose children to privacy risks, unwanted attention, or long-term digital trails they didn’t consent to. The DPC’s warning encourages mindfulness, not fear.
Share only with trusted groups, avoid tagging locations or schools, skip names or personal details, and ask older children for permission before posting. Or better yet, just post only the result of the handiwork. Not their faces.
Yes. Many teens express discomfort with childhood photos shared without their consent. Mindful posting helps children feel respected, secure, and in control of their digital identity later on.
More about digital parenting?
Maez De Guzman: Weaving Tech Into The Home
Every Parent’s Nightmare: Their Child Becoming a “Deepfake” Victim
Christine Melody Taa: A Safe Online Playground for Every Kid
