Influencers that show their children….

[aperolspritzbasicbitch]

Do we have any in here, or anyone that is close friends with one?
It’s something that I’m really against, and the sooner they bring in laws to protect the children involved the better in my eyes.
i’m always really curious with how the people that do show their children on a monetised account rationalise it with themselves as being ok. They certainly aren’t in the minority, it’s more rare to find someone who shares their life on line that doesn’t show their children.

There's a few near where I live with a modest following on instagram.. around 50k. I see their kids at the shop or out for a walk and I recognise them before their parents. I know their names, ages, where they go to school, that the youngest one won't eat vegetables etc etc. it's very disconcerting to think that someone without their best interests could have access to so much information about a strangers child. I have about 500 followers and I still don't post my kids anywhere. Such an invasion of their privacy at such a young age. Hopefully we will start to see a change.

I don’t know any personally, but I’m totally with you. I think it’s exploitation at its finest. So selfish. I only hope they’re putting money away for their kids, not just for their contribution, but for their therapy too. And that if the child asked not to be featured they’d respect that.

Also, have you watched the Ruby Frankie documentary on Disney +?
It’s horrific.

I agree with you, think I have one photo of me and my children on my social media and they’re all teenagers and I asked their permission beforehand.
People see celebrities doing it and think it’s ok but the children of, for example Jake Quickenden, I’m sure won’t thank him when they’re older for telling the world they’re still in a nappy at night or have shit their pants and having bottles when they’re nearly school aged.

@CanIHaveALattePlease i ask for my kid’s permission too, and my socials are locked down and only have close friends and family on. If they say no, I respect that.

There’s one who lives near me. Her kids (two of them, at least) are feral. But that’s her schtick - the can’t be arsed mum.

I think selling you kids online for content is utterly vile and should be illegal. Hope these kids grow up and sue their parents

I don't know any but I completely agree. The first generation of these kids are now young adults, I wonder if we're going to start hearing from them what their lives were/are like or if their silence is still being bought/manipulated by their parents.

It just seems crazy to me that schools now teach kids about internet safety - not putting too much personal information out there, not interacting with strangers etc etc Meanwhile influencers are out there sharing every detail of their kids lives to thousands of strangers.

It's not just influencers. I'm on an ADHD parenting Facebook page and the stuff people share on there is awful. They will post videos of their young children having meltdowns and crying. Deeply vulnerable and personal moments shared to the world AND often accompanied by a "I can't cope with the kid anymore" type post. They seem to have no concept of the internet being more than 3 people round their kitchen table.

They should be banned from making money using their kids.

Just last night I saw a TikTok of a women who was watching one of those mummy influencers at the beach. She said she set her camera up, acted all fun and sweet to the child, made her film the same shots again and then as soon as she got the footage she wanted she left.

The ones who go live on social media are just as bad, their kids have no privacy and people will research every detail about you.

There will be many influencer kids that end up no contact as their parents are spending their childhood through a camera or phone.

Seeing more and more of these meltdowns on TikTok. They know they are shocking videos and those bring in the money but the comments and names people call their kids is shocking. I don’t know what they subject their kids to it other than for the money.

I once recognised a kid in A&E. A relative of someone I follow, whose whole family is on social media. I recognised the child from her posts, but not the parents. The personalised bag he had with him, with unusual name, confirmed it.

I honestly think they must be mad, but it's a lucrative lifestyle.

Laws are always so slow to be introduced and by the time they are inacted, a lot of damage is done.
It would make sense that if children can't have a SM account until 13, their image can't be put on it until at least that age too. If they are not old enough to consent to an account, they aren't old enough to be put on it.

I followed someone on SM who had daughters about 8 and 10. She stopped showing them after a holiday abroad when a woman approached them in a supermarket and said she recognized them and was questioning them about things. She said it totally freaked her out, she didn't show them that regularly anyway, yet random people around the world recognized them.

Personally I absolutely loathe the whole notion of influencers anyway but involving children just seems like child labour...there is A LOT of work involved in putting out that much content.

There is a newish documentary about this very subject on Netflix called "Bad Influence" and it is absolutely horrific.

Ashley James is an example at its worst.

She said she knows the dangers of what filthy buggers are out there and she knows what they are capable of doing when it comes to manipulating and changing pictures of children to make them into abuse image yet she continues to upload pictures and videos of her children half naked, with their mouths wide open and in the bath etc. It’s disgusting.

She also uploads everything about their medical journey and history for the world to see. That is their information to share with people when they’re older as and when they choose.

She’s uploaded videos of her stood outside her front door with the house number showing, the street where she lives and the journey she walks them to nursery every single day. It wouldn’t take a genius to work out the exact house she lives in and which nursery they’re at.

I would be mortified if my work colleagues or new people I met as an adult were able to say “Hey I know you, I saw a video of you when you wet your pants on that trip out with your mum and she put it on Instagram.” Or “Do you still suffer with that medical condition that you had from age 2-8?”

It’s so wild to me that it’s seen as so normal by so many.

They should de monetise them. Its scary the amount of info they put out there. One was moaning about someone calling social services on them, no self reflection though on how wild it is to have shared so much information that someone could do this. From their account can tell what street they live on, their DoBs etc. Thats before we even get to all of the intimate information they put out there and the photos/videos.

Not an influencer but a friend of mine has a completely unlocked Facebook and posts absolutely everything about her kids there. All their health problems, where they go to school, events they’re attending. It makes me really uncomfortable but I don’t have kids so what do I know.

I have noticed influencers get mean comments whether they show their kids or not. A YouTuber I follow has chosen not to show her son or use his name and there are people on gossip sites posting all sorts of details they’ve ‘found out’ about him and saying she’s too precious. Then in the same breath berating another content creator for showing her kids in her videos.

This is who I was referring to as well 😂

They probably think it's earning their family money so have no issue with it. Just like children who are models, actors etc. We all have our lines. The ones who earn millions probably are very happy with their choices

At least with child acting and modelling there are protections in place for children.

DC’s friend’s parents do this and I’m sorry to say I really judge them for it. For the past several years the poor kid has been paraded all over their socials dressed in a variety of silly outfits to promote their work. Even day to day, the child is only allowed to wear certain items of clothing and colours that go with their carefully curated image. As a result the child (who is very sweet-natured) seems to be showing quite worrying people-pleasing tendencies, which the parents are aware of but don’t seem to make the link, even though they’re both highly educated. I find it baffling and can’t imagine wanting attention so badly that I’d be willing to use my child to get it. What’s even worse is that it’s easy to see where they live, so if someone wanted to track that child down it wouldn’t be difficult. Horrifying.

Well i dont follow them, people who don't seem to like influencers seem to spend a lot of time talking about them personally no i wouldn't do what they do but I am not them, i also wouldn't monetise my child by baby or child modelling or acting

And i certainly wouldn't put them on social media at all like many MN do

There are similarities, particularly around not consenting eg obviously a toddler in a tv show, or a baby in a nappy advert hasn’t consented to their image being shown.

But those industries do have protections.

And I don’t think lack of consent for baby actors is an issue because tbh I don’t think the image itself in isolation is a problem most of the time. It’s the information that goes with it. The baby in a nappy ad - I can’t find out who that is, what their name is, their parents, their siblings, roughly where they live, see them as they grow up, find out what they like doing, potentially find out about medical conditions, issues in school, did they struggle with bed wetting or anything else the parent might discuss on SM.

It's far more intrusive than that though isn't it? Your child could be a model but nobody would know where they go to school, when they last had a tantrum, what food they won't eat etc etc. it's also in their own home. No defined rest or break. Always expected to have a camera in their face.

A child shouldn’t have the responsibility of earning their family money. Any money that is made by a child should be put away for the child to have when they’re old enough.

I think it's really sad.
I follow a certain Instagrammer who became famous for " cleaning"

She regularly posts footage of her toddlers playing in their home. Two little boys who are playing and smiling at mummy for the camera, unaware that literally millions of people are watching them and will recognise them..
Not only that we also get information about their diagnoses.

I get that monetising your lifestyle and family can improve their standard of life, and this woman has made a fortune, but I just feel uncomfortable watching small children having fun in a family setting, oblivious to how many people are watching them.

Now I've written and read all of that back, I think I'm off to unfollow her .