Unsubscribe to Child Influencers: The Harmful Side Effects of Children Growing Up in the Spotlight

As children, when asked what we wanted to be when we grew up, most of us responded with “chef”, “firefighter”, or “NBA player”. Some of us went the more adventurous route and confidently answered “fairy”, “princess”, or “superhero”. Nowadays, how many children have added “social media star” onto this list? While it may not be a child’s dream to be a social media influencer, this job has become the reality for many young kids simply because their parents decided to pursue the role for them. Parents who post their kids for internet fame have become a hot topic recently, due to the realization that child influencers face safety threats, are stripped of a childhood, and may struggle mentally from facing the cruelty of the internet at such a young age.

The most prominent influencer family in the news for the past few years has been the Franke family from Utah. Ruby Franke, the mother of the YouTube family “8 Passengers” has recently been charged with child abuse after one of her six children was found malnourished with duct tape around his wrists and ankles. Although the 8 Passengers account was deactivated in 2022, for several years Ruby Franke was given a platform to promote her parenting methods and to use her children as pawns to hide her neglect. By showcasing her family’s seemingly happy lifestyle on YouTube, no one thought to question Ruby's parenting (at least until her oldest daughter left the channel because of a strained relationship with her family).

Another YouTube family painting child influencers in an unflattering light is the LaBrant family. Husband and wife Cole and Savannah Labrant have five children but are most known for posting their 12-year-old daughter Everleigh. A somewhat recent controversy involves the backlash following the release of Everleigh's own song about two years ago. Cole may have claimed this track was “the best he ever heard”, but his followers seemed to disagree, mocking the song’s unoriginal lyrics and accusing Cole and Savannah of orchestrating the project. These insults could take a toll on anyone’s mental health, but they had the capacity to seriously ruin the then-10-year-old’s self-perception. Consequently, influencers posting their children on social media inadvertently subject the kids to hate that can destroy their confidence. 

Lastly, Maddie Ziegler was a child star on the wildly popular show Dance Moms throughout the 2010s. The show’s dance instructor, Abby Lee Miller, was known for her harsh and sometimes cruel treatment of the dancers. Recently, Maddie Ziegler has spoken about how growing up in such a toxic and public environment has permanently traumatized her and how a child shouldn’t have to go through that. Although she didn’t start out as a social media star, Ziegler experienced the same thing child influencers are going through now. Just like Ziegler, child influencers are subjected to internet hate, and they constantly have to miss school for their careers and can’t go in public without being recognized. Resultingly, not only do current child social media stars lose their confidence from the internet’s toxicity, but they also lose their childhood.

In conclusion, social media influencers shouldn’t involve their children in their careers because it can be dangerous, can ruin the kids’ self-esteem, and take away the kids’ childhood. So instead of parents encouraging their kids to become the next Kim Kardashian, they should support their children's dreams of one day becoming a princess or superhero.