Liliana Arroyo: "A 5-year-old child has an average of 1,500 photos posted on social media."

BarcelonaThe Ministry of Youth and Children is working to regulate the exposure of minors by parents and other adults on social media, known as sharentingThe data is compelling: nine out of ten Spanish families share content of their children between the ages of 9 and 17 on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok once a month, according to a study by the cybersecurity company AVG, and up to 81% of babies already have a presence on social networks before they turn six months old.

One of the key points of the new regulation of sharenting What the Spanish government wants to achieve is to stop the monetization of content on social media featuring children. Is that enough?

— This is the most alarming situation, and it's good that it's being addressed, but focusing solely on this aspect is insufficient. There's already a 2021 organic law on the protection of children and adolescents that includes some of these elements in the digital realm. Highlighting only this is incomplete, politically motivated, and just the tip of the iceberg. Therefore, it shouldn't be the only measure.

What are the dangers of sharenting?

— There are three levels of risk. The first, and the one that elicits the most indifference, is privacy. If we make a habit of sharing photos of our children in everything we do, we're giving away a lot of information that can be used in many ways, not only regarding your child but also the family's habits. The more pictures you post, the more context you provide for people to imagine what your life is like. The second level is all the information you give to the platform and the algorithm, which will determine the type of information you'll subsequently receive. Therefore, you're building what's called your echo chamber. If you post many photos of your child baking cakes, you'll clearly receive a constant stream of information about cooking recipes.

Someone might say that this last point is not a...

— Not when we're talking about cakes. Now, when your child has their own account on the network in question, it may be affected by the traceability of your account, and then, to continue with the example, they will be trapped in this case in the world of cakes. The other big risk is the whole issue of... groomingwhich is becoming increasingly prevalent. Just this Tuesday, UNICEF presented a report detailing the rise in this type of harassment by strangers through social media. Ultimately, what we're doing is posting images of children in highly visible public spaces, and we don't know how pedophiles might use them. And there's yet another risk: all these images we upload to the internet can potentially feed artificial intelligence models. This means that photos of your child could be used to train this model, and then you could create a random image with AI and find that it has your child's face.

Aside from the creatures, the other group that has already suffered the consequences of sharenting They are teenagers.

— We must also consider how other children or teenagers might misuse these images. as happened in Almendralejo...for example, by making fun of our son or daughter. Imagine you have photos posted of your teenage son or daughter hiking in the mountains, and then a classmate uses that image to make fun of them. We are making material available that can be misused. And for me, there is another consequence, which is also very important: we are not protecting children's right to build their own digital footprint. This is something we will encounter when they are older and have their own networks, but right now we are doing it without their consent and without considering their wishes regarding their online presence.

How many photos can a child accumulate on social media without their consent?

— A 5-year-old child has an average of 1,500 photos posted on social media. This equates to about 25 photos per month.

How, then, can we explain that a large part of society does not see these risks?

— The digital world is very complex, and we only understand what has direct and immediate consequences. Furthermore, there's also the issue of cognitive dissonance: that is, I already know this is problematic in terms of privacy, but I keep doing it because in the short term, what we gain from doing it is more than what we gain from not doing it. If you stop posting photos of your baby, you don't get an immediate reward; nobody applauds you, quite the opposite. On the other hand, if you post photos, you get the likesYou have social validation. In a way, the nature of being unconscious has an immediate reward, while the risks, which are medium- or long-term, are more invisible. And you're probably not aware of it until it happens to you, until you've suffered an attack or insult or an unpleasant situation in the online environment.

Before the law of sharenting The voice of many families can prevail, saying "the child is mine and I decide what is best for him."

— You have an obligation to care for this child, but what you must always put first are their best interests, as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children are not possessions; we make decisions for them until they have the legal capacity and maturity to do so. But children are not property, much less property that we can monetize.

Some families choose to use an emoji or pixelate the child's face. These measures reduce the risk of sharenting decreases?

— You're still providing information about contexts and habits, especially if you post a lot. Besides, emojis are easily removed using certain techniques. But for me, there's another aspect: the child's dignity. I mean, if you want to post pictures of a child without showing their face, post a photo of them from behind. Would adults like it if someone posted a photo of them with an emoji over their face? It doesn't make sense. Intentionally uploading a photo using these methods seems contradictory to me.

Does sending photos to family members carry the same risks as posting photos on social media?

— Sending them via WhatsApp is different from posting them on social media, where access is much more public. The thing is, we must be aware that the moment you circulate an image, you lose control, because whoever receives it can continue sharing it or posting it on social media. However, as parents, we can tell our family that they can show it to them, but not share or post it anywhere.

Sometimes it's hard for them to understand...

— I always tell them that if anyone complains, they should say it's our fault, that we parents are too strict and very aware of the risks involved. Another option is to send them so they can only be viewed once, but that image will already be uploaded to a WhatsApp server or some other social network. It all depends on what you want to protect yourself from: other people's eyes or giving your data to the company behind the platform.

On a more emotional level, what long-term consequences might this constant exposure have for children?

— You raise them to believe that life should be broadcast, and the difference between what you keep to yourself and what you teach others becomes blurred. When a 5 or 6-year-old child is very accustomed to the sharenting And when they see a mobile phone, they immediately start striking poses and making selfie faces. Furthermore, this can increase the pressure to conform to beauty standards, and above all, they may grow up with a socialization based on the idea that self-validation comes from the gaze of others.