Memeability and sharenting: The affective economy of children on social media

Abstract

This article considers how children’s memeability is entangled with commercial sharenting narratives through two case studies of (mothers) influencers and their daughters in Brazil and Portugal. The Brazilian mother privileges cute aesthetics by enchantment in an inspirational sharenting and does not promote the child’s memeability. In contrast, the Portuguese influencer privileges cringe aesthetics, encouraging her daughter’s memeability by exploring the ambivalence of parenting with humor in a transgressive sharenting. The findings point to the unpredictability and uncontrollability of the memetic culture. In Brazil, the child’s image was appropriated for playful and parodic engagement, neglecting her privacy, reputation, and well-being despite her mother’s public complaint. This unauthorized memeability results from the girl’s celebrification after her display in viral content and advertising campaigns. In contrast, the encouraged memeability of the Portuguese influencer does not exceed her community of followers since her daughter’s recognition seems limited to an extension of the mother’s self.