Parental Role in Creation and Preservation of Digital Identity of Children

Abstract

Parents mould their children’s digital identity even before they venture into cyberspace. In this era of sharenting, tt can be mortifying for a child to learn that their entire childhood is documented and shared publicly by their parents. This paper primarily addresses the need for awareness including development in the legal framework for digital identity of children. The objectives of this study are to analyse the association between awareness of digital identity among respondents of various age groups and to identify whether the opinion of male and female differs regarding the statement: “Sharing photos and other personal details of a child in public forums and social media can affect their safety.'' This paper has adopted mixed methodology including empirical and doctrinal research method. The study shows that male and females have different perspective regarding children’s right to erasure online. Cyberspace opened a plethora of opportunities to parents and children to network and learn in the comfort of their home or school, however children by their inherent naivety can be prone to leave incriminatory digital footprints, which if not regulated can play havoc in their future. The tech savvy parents too, in their zeal to showcase their ward’s various milestones inadvertently add to this digital footprints. This paper suggests that there cannot be any single formula to protect and preserve digital identity of children. Parental monitoring may be the best mechanism, however, it may not be possible without the backing of suitable legal process. It is high time India adopt a legislation in line with the European Union laws of “right to erasure”.