Sharenting and Exploitation: A Content Analysis of Public Reactions to the Wren Eleanor Situation

Abstract

This study analyzed responses to the viral sharenting case of Wren Eleanor to understand how people react to sharenting and related allegations of child exploitation. A sample of 50 comments was created by retrieving the first 25 comments displayed on two TikTok videos. The sample consisted of an equal number of positive reactions (i.e., those supportive of Wren’s mother and her sharenting) and negative reactions (i.e., those critical of Wren’s mother and her sharenting). The positive responses had five themes: Victim, Opposition, Encouragement, Emotional Attachment and Involvement, and Advice. The negative responses had four themes: Perpetrator, Exploitation, Fear, and Action. This study demonstrated that parasocial relationships and interactions potentially play a key role in how people react to sharenting and allegations of child exploitation.

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Diane Symbaluk