Empathy or Exploitation? Content Featuring Children with Disabilities via Parents Digital Activities on Social Media Ratu Arti Wulan Sari, Fauziah Muslimah, Siti Azkia Labibah Nursyabani
UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung
Abstract
Parents^ digital activities now extend beyond sharing their own lives to include their children^s activities. Parents engage in this practice known as ^sharenting^ for various reasons, despite the risks it poses to their children^s privacy rights. Notably, this digital activity also targets children with disabilities- viral content created by parents depicting everything from their daily routines to how they differ from the general population has become a staple of public consumption. This study examines two key areas: (1) how exploitation is involved when parents share content featuring children with disabilities, and (2) the impact of these digital activities on the children themselves. The research employs a qualitative approach, utilizing Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) across three stages: open coding, recontextualization, and categorization/compilation, while drawing on the concepts of the political economy of communication and digital hegemony to refine the analysis. The data sources consist of content featuring children with disabilities on Instagram and TikTok, selected specifically following an initial observation and data collection phase. The study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the exploitation of children with disabilities in the digital space and the resulting impacts on them. Furthermore, the findings may serve to foster greater advocacy and support for people with disabilities, particularly children.
Keywords: Political Economy, Child with a Disability, QCA, Social Media
Topic: Digital Power, Social Capital, and Inclusive Resilience: Interrogating Gender and Inequality in Technologically Mediated Societies (Digital Power- Social Capital- Inclusive Resilience)
