‘As a parent, I’m terrified of AI’: Have we reached the end of the ‘sharenting’ era?

A child is going up an escalator in a crowded shopping centre. She’s young: eight years old and sweet-looking, with straggly long brown hair, a flowery jumper and a white crossbody bag. She’s holding her mother’s hand. A stranger shouts, “Hi Éabha!” Another stranger trills a happy birthday greeting. An unknown man leans in to wonder if her dad will be late to collect her from football practice. Her face is a mask of surprise, disgust and fear. Horror flickers across her mother’s expression as strangers retreat to their phones – to the images she has lovingly posted online of her cherished daughter.

For parents around the country, the recent advert from the Data Protection Commission, part of their Pause Before You Post campaign, was their nightmare come to life. It was a 40-second encapsulation of the inner conflict many parents feel – proud and adoring, they want to share images of their kids, but is it a good idea really?

Ten years ago, there was a certain innocence about posting online. Now things are different. Identity theft is a looming issue. Grok has emerged, an AI bot that allows for nudification of images. And the first generation of kids to have their images posted online are speaking out about how they feel now as adults. Brooklyn Beckham, who is estranged from his parents David and Victoria Beckham, recently said he grew up with constant anxiety, citing “performative social media posts” shared by his family online.