The Datafied Child: A Systematic Literature Review and Research Agenda on Sharenting, Privacy, and Social Media

Sharenting, the parental practice of sharing children's personal information online, raises critical privacy, ethical, and regulatory concerns. This systematic literature review and research agenda examines how sharenting is studied, analyzing theoretical frameworks through an information systems (IS) lens. Findings identify five key themes—privacy management, identity presentation, consumer vulnerability, social influence, and parenting ethics—shaped by broader technological, social, and regulatory forces. To structure these insights, this study introduces a three-domain framework to categorize how digital infrastructures, cultural norms, and policy gaps influence sharenting behaviors. The review highlights limited IS engagement in sharenting research and underscores the need for greater focus on platform accountability, digital consent mechanisms, and parental decision-making. By mapping key gaps, this study advances an interdisciplinary research agenda while presenting a critical opportunity to apply IS theories and frameworks to inform policy, platform design, and digital literacy efforts that safeguard children's privacy and autonomy in online spaces.