Between advocacy and commodification on Instagram: A case study of sharenting a child with disabilities

This study examines the advocacy for children with disabilities in the context of sharenting practices on social media. The focus is on a case study of a 5-year-old British girl with Down syndrome (DS) named AC, whose Instagram account is managed by her mother. The study involved analysing all the content shared on the account, including single images, carousels, and videos (n = 1195), Reels (n = 310), pinned highlights (n = 6), and content tagged by other accounts (n = 74). The Instagram narratives were inductively categorized into three groups: Normalizing DS, Coping with DS, and DS macro-level advocacy. The sharenting portrayal of AC has contributed to the growth of a supportive community challenging social stereotypes while promoting a more inclusive society. However, the study raises concerns about privacy, commodification, and self-representation of the child in the context of sharenting advocacy. The mother's efforts to blend advocacy with commodification may compromise AC's privacy in pursuit of public recognition of DS children and financial benefits. While the social media portrayal attempts to offer the child's perspective, this case may not accurately represent self-advocacy.