In the phenomenon of “Sharenting”, the main focus is related to the privacy and online exposure of the child.

As highlighted in this study, sharing contents children-related is fueled by the number of followers parents have on their social channels (Table 1), this result is in line with what has been shown in other studies [9, 10]. Generally, the high number of followers correlates with greater activity on social media platforms, with more photos and videos posted, as such practice generates interactions which is linked to a sentiment of “satisfaction” and in some cases even material incomes including gifts, sponsorships and money.

Our study also found that sharenting is more frequent among parents with age < 35 years and that content sharing begins in the first 6 months of the child’s life (Fig. 1A); these observations suggest that sharenting is more frequently practiced in the early stages of parenthood, when parents, especially mothers, are more likely to feel isolated and lonely, as also highlighted in other studies in the literature [11, 12]; however, our questionnaire did not investigate the psychological aspect of the phenomenon and further studies are necessary to confirm this hypothesis.

Among the reasons why parents post their children’s content, it emerged how the integration of social media into people’s lives has generated the need to share personal events with the virtual community (the first reason for sharing in our cohort of interviewed parents). In addition, the pride felt by the parent towards her/his child (Fig. 2C), resulted to be the prominent feeling of parents sharing their children’s content with the virtual community, in line with other published analysis of this phenomenon [13].

As also demonstrated in a recent study [11], parents under 35 feel the need to make their new parental status public and to prove that they are ‘good parents’; in a time when our lives are deeply influenced by the technology and real identities overlap with digital identities, this need is satisfied by sharing of their children’s lives and habits on social networks; real social fulfilment therefore seems to necessarily pass through virtual social platforms.

An alarming data emerged from our analysis is the lack of awareness among parents regarding the status of sharenting related legislation, the risks and the privacy policies of social media platforms. The continuous online exposure of children entails several risks, including the violation of privacy and confidentiality, which is a children’s right, as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Adolescent and more recently in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Parents are considered the ‘custodians’ or ‘owners’ of their children’s personal data, including the use of such data [14]; however, the psychological repercussions in children when they discover later in life that they have been exposed on the online network without their explicit consent and knowledge can be severe. A recent survey published in the Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health found that children aged between 4 and 17, surveyed through the administration of an age-adapted questionnaire, expressed the wish to be questioned and listened to before their parents shared stories or images about them on social media [15]. Finally, the most dramatic consequences of an uninformed use of children in social media are the risk of spreading content that can be used as material on pedophilia networks and the risk of luring through the use of online gaming apps [3, 6].

Our preliminary results show that parents who used online gaming apps to entertain their children have a lower educational level, are not aware of the risks and have children older than 8 years; the latter result suggests that this practice is used when the child is old enough to play independently. In light of these alarming statements and of the increasing use of social media, measures need to be taken to protect children from the ‘sharenting syndrome’ and the used of gaming apps.

Our study has some limitations. First, the sample size of the study is limited, and the majority of the compilers are parents of children attending the outpatients while few were employees of University Hospital, however this is a pilot study, and more data will be integrated in the final work. Our questionnaire was based on previously published surveys; however, it lacks validity measures. Finally, in order not to prolong the time needed to complete the questionnaire, we realized a survey lasting approximately 3 min, thus some information which could be useful, such as size of the family, and the distance between the children, are lacking.