Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting
Date Submitted: Nov 8, 2023
Open Peer Review Period: Nov 8, 2023 - Jan 3, 2024
Date Accepted: Jan 17, 2024
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Young Children and the Creation of a Digital Identity on Social Networking Sites: A Scoping Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
There is limited understanding of the concept of the digital identity of young children created through engagement on social networking sites.
Objective:
The objective of this scoping review was to identify key characteristics of the concept of digital identity for children from conception to 8 years on social networking sites.
Methods:
This scoping review was conducted using the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines for scoping reviews. The key databases searched were EBSCO, Web of Science, ProQuest ERIC, and Scopus. Grey literature sources (National Grey Literature Collection, ProQuest Dissertation and Theses, and Google Scholar) were also searched to identify unpublished studies. Articles were selected if they were published in English and reported data on the digital identity of children in relation to social networking sites.
Results:
The key terms used in the literature were “sharenting”, followed by “digital footprints” and ‘children’s identities’. Our study revealed two approaches to the creation of digital identity, ‘social digital identity’ and ‘performative digital identity’. Articles in this review most commonly used the term ‘sharenting’ to describe the behaviour parents engage in to create digital identities for children on social networking sites. Motivations to post information about children differed among parents, however, the most common reasons were to share with friends and family and to create digital archives of childhood photos, termed “social digital identity. The second motivation was categorised as performative digital identity. The risk of digital kidnapping and identity theft associated with the creation of digital identities also influenced parent’s behaviours.
Conclusions:
Digital identity of children is an emerging concept. Our review develops a deeper understanding of sharenting behaviours that can be used to better support parents and their children to create a digital identity with children and awareness of the potential future impact. We recommend that future studies explore the perspectives of children as key stakeholders in the creation of their digital identity. Clinical Trial: https://osf.io/4kyjw/ Registration of the protocol with Open Science Framework
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.