Parenting in the digital age: An awareness campaign for Canadian parents sharing their children’s photos and personal information on social media
Organization
Option Consommateurs
Published
2020
Project Leader(s)
Maryse Guénette and Josiane Fréchette
Summary
Parents sharing their children’s photos and personal information on social media is a widespread phenomenon. Canadian parents are no exception. According to a study by AVG, 84% of Canadian mothers of children under the age of two post photos of their children online.
In 2018-2019, Option consommateurs wanted to explore this topic and received funding from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada to complete a research report entitled “Être parent à l’ère du numérique : le partage de renseignements personnels sur les réseaux sociaux et ses conséquences sur le droit à la vie privée et l’image des enfants.” (French only) [Parenting in the Digital Age: Sharing Personal Information on Social Media and its Consequences on Children’s Privacy Rights and their Public Persona]
Released in September 2019, the research report received extensive media coverage. It was clear that this is a high-interest topic that raises questions for which there are few answers. In this context, Option consommateurs’ goal was to educate parents, as well as to prevent them from engaging in behaviours that may be inappropriate.
In order to achieve this, Option consommateurs produced two animated videos that educate parents about the potential risks to their children of sharing their children’s photos and information on social media. The bilingual videos were shared on Canada’s most popular social media sites, as well as with certain partners and their audiences.
Option consommateurs also developed a web page, hosted on its website, including information divided into sections. The first section details the risks to children when parents post their photos and information on social media. The second section contains advice for parents on how to limit risks to their children when posting about them on social media. The two videos can also be found at the top of the page. The web page and videos are available in both English and French.
Project deliverables are available in the following language(s):
English
French
OPC Funded Project
This project received funding support through the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s Contributions Program. The opinions expressed in the summary and report(s) are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Summaries have been provided by the project authors. Please note that the projects appear in their language of origin.
Contact Information
Maryse Guénette or Josianne Fréchette
Option Consommateurs
Maison du développement durable
50 St. Catherine Street West, suite 440
Montreal, Quebec H2X 3V4
514-598-7288
info@option-consommateurs.org
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