Health Sharenting and a Child’s Right to Privacy

The internet and social media represent a ubiquitous part of the American experience today. From birth, if not before, children are exposed to and influenced by social media. Parents turn to social media for parenting advice or to share stories about the parenting experience-fertility struggles, pregnancy, parenting children with disabilities or chronic or terminal illnesses, and much more.

Some parents even make a living as parenting "influencers" or turn their children into "kidfluencers." All of this raises important questions. Should parents share intimate details about their children's lives? If so, should there be limits and how would such limits be enforced?

The explosion of parents sharing information about their children's physical and mental health struggles online ("health sharenting") raises serious questions about consent and a child's right to privacy. Once this information is released into the public domain, there is no going back. It can be difficult, if not impossible, to erase information from the internet.

For the rest of the child's life, others can find information about the child's physical or mental health. Raising awareness and creating space for parents to find support and advice is important, but at what cost? This Article queries whether the benefits of health sharenting outweigh the real and potential harms.

It concludes by proposing a "presumption of privacy" in the parentchild relationship and how that presumption can be enforced.