Sharenthood

Praise

“Unlike accounts either demonizing or defending social media, Plunkett charts an original course in asking adults, and urging law, to embrace youth as a time for experimentation. This book offers tools to empower youth and a nuanced, cogent assessment of the challenges in protecting privacy in the digital age.” – Rachel Rebouché, Associate Dean for Research, Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law; author of Governance Feminism: An Introduction, and Family Law (6th edition). 

“Plunkett, a lawyer with experience defending young clients, provides a much-needed perspective on the rise of ‘sharenting,’ which she defines as the sharing of a child’s private information through digital platforms. With an eye for history, a critique of the US legal system, and a penchant for storytelling, in this book she offers parents, caregivers, educators, and citizens important insights on how best to navigate the digital terrain.” – Lynn Schofield Clark, author of The Parent App: Understanding Families in a Digital Age 

“In Sharenthood, Leah Plunkett deftly explores the challenges inherent in raising children in the digital age, from the unique perspective of a legal scholar. Rather than fear-mongering about what anonymous bad guys might do to our children, she notes what we, ourselves, as parents already are doing every day — often for no reward greater than ‘likes.’ The book is a bracing and provocative look at the present and a prescient warning about our potential futures.” – Dorothy Fortenberry, writer/producer, The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu 

“A fascinating and frightening addition to the literature on the technological reconstruction of childhood and parenting. Plunkett details how taken-for-granted adult data-sharing behaviors, legally sanctioned and cynically encouraged by tech companies, constrain what our children are and can become. She sounds a loud warning — and proposes a significant cultural reorientation. We would be wise to listen!”– Joshua Meyrowitz, Professor Emeritus of Media Studies, University of New Hampshire; author of No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior