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'Insta parenting' can lead to children feeling exploited by parents, UAE doctors warn
Old childhood videos can resurface years later to trigger bullying, humiliation and serious distress, while experts warn that parents can lose control of content once it is online
- PUBLISHED: Mon 10 Aug 2026, 3:37 PM
A video uploaded by parents when their son was a young child became a source of humiliation years later when his classmates discovered it, mocking the way he talked, laughed and behaved on camera.
The boy eventually became so distressed that he did not want to go to school, and his family had to seek legal help to try to have the videos removed, according to wellbeing coach Dr Hanadi Al Jaber.
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The case is one of several examples psychologists say highlight a growing problem with children’s digital footprints: parents may see a photograph or video as a harmless childhood memory, but the child may have to live with it long after they have grown out of the person they were when it was filmed.
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Their warnings come after an Abu Dhabi court ruling ordered divorced parents to stop publishing photographs, videos and personal information about their daughters online and remove existing content that could harm the children's best interests.
The court also restrained the parent who had brought the case, underlining that the issue was not simply a dispute between parents over who could post the children’s pictures, but the children’s right to privacy and protection.
Psychologists told Khaleej Times that the case should prompt parents to think beyond whether a child is happy to be photographed today and consider whether they would want the same material available when they are teenagers or adults.
'Schoolmates created digital stickers'
Al Jaber recalled a case involving a boy whose parents had been making content about him and uploading videos to YouTube when he was young.
“At the time, he was a normal child. He didn't understand, and he didn't have a word to say yes or no,” she explained.
The situation changed when he became a teenager.
His schoolmates found the old videos and began using them to make fun of him.
“They created digital stickers from his photos, how he used to snore, how he used to talk, how he used to laugh,” Al Jaber said.
The teasing became so severe that the teenager stopped wanting to go to school. The boy eventually asked his family to remove the videos. But because the material was already online, taking it down was not straightforward.
One of the solutions the family had to resort to was seeking legal intervention to force the removal of the content, Al Jaber said. The teenager suffered severe psychological distress and, she said, at one point began thinking about suicide.
“It took us a long time to treat him."
For Al Jaber, the case demonstrates why a child's ability to understand and consent to online exposure matters.
“When he made the content, he was a normal child. He didn't understand, and he didn't have a word to say yes or no."
But as he grew older, his understanding of privacy changed. “And when he grew up, and he started to understand, of course, he tried to ask his family to delete the videos."
‘The child may not be the same person later’
Dr Amir Javaid, Director of Paediatric Psychiatry Services and Intellectual Disorders and Consultant Psychiatrist at Burjeel Medical City, said children should have increasing control over how they are represented as they mature.
“When their lives are extensively documented online before they can give informed consent, they may later experience embarrassment, loss of trust, or feel that their personal boundaries were not respected."
In his clinical practice, Javaid said he had encountered adolescents who were uncomfortable that personal information or photographs had been shared without their permission.
“A common theme is that they wanted greater ownership over their own digital identity."
That ownership becomes particularly important as children grow older, he said, because their understanding of privacy, reputation and identity develops.
A photograph that seems funny or adorable to a parent when a child is five may be deeply embarrassing to that same child at 15. Parents should ask themselves whether they would be comfortable sharing the same information about themselves. The same test, he said, should apply to children.
‘You lose control once it is public’
Dr Hanadi warned that the risks are not limited to school bullying - it could extend to the 'dark web'.
Once children's photographs and videos are publicly available, strangers can access them, save them, redistribute them or potentially use them to contact children.
“There are people who take advantage of the videos of children."
She warned that some people may find children through social media and begin communicating with them, potentially putting them at risk of exploitation or threats. That is why parents need to think carefully before turning private family moments into public content.
A family photograph shared privately with relatives is fundamentally different from a video uploaded to a public account where it can be viewed, copied and redistributed by people the family does not know.
‘Delete it’: Clear warning sign
The clearest warning sign may come directly from the child.
Al Jaber said parents should pay attention if a child begins questioning old photographs or videos or asks for them to be removed.
“If he says, ‘I don't like this picture, I want a better one’; this is what parents should be aware of."
Likewise, if a child sees an old video and asks why they looked or behaved a certain way, or simply says, “No, delete this, I don't want it,” parents should listen.
The problem becomes greater when parents refuse because the content has acquired value through views, followers or income. “When it becomes content, all of this, unfortunately, can be ruined."
From family memory to income
The psychologists also drew a line between ordinary family sharing and the growing phenomenon of children being used in online content.
Hiba Badawi, a psychologist, said documenting family moments can be positive when it remains a way of preserving memories.
“But when this documentation turns into content creation and a project to earn profits and income, and the child becomes part of this project, here is the catastrophe."
The concern, she said, is that a parent may begin to view a child's appearance not simply as a family moment but as an asset that generates engagement or income. That can make it harder for the child to say no later.
Javaid said parents should consider whether a post respects the child's dignity and whether they would be comfortable with the same information being shared about themselves.
“Parents can continue to record special moments for family albums or private sharing while being more selective about what becomes permanently available on public platforms,” he said.
