When Internet Famous Kids Grow Up, Things Get Complicated
06.06.2023 - 20:09
/ glamour.com
By Jake SmithBy Emily TannenbaumBy Madeline DangmannThe fact that young children were at the heart of these accounts has always been a source of shame—for me as a reader, and for the industry as a whole. The subjects of this content are real children, like the Bird kids, who are starting to realize their entire childhoods, or at least large swaths of it, have been documented on the internet.
And that means they are at the mercy of the internet’s judgment.Currently, the children of content creators have no legally protected rights, but that may be about to change. Incidents over the past few years are beginning to demonstrate how kid-centered content can be a slippery slope into darkness, exploitation, and abuse.
To best demonstrate these issues, we must examine a different corner of the social media universe: YouTube.Let me tell you a crazy story.By Myka Stauffer and her husband, James, were family vloggers. It’s a genre that you’re familiar with if you spend any time on the platform, but if you have never seen them before, the videos are rather strange.
They literally just film themselves all day, not doing much besides going to the grocery store, doing chores, or walking around their neighborhood. It’s bizarre, but very popular, especially among young children, who spend hours and hours on YouTube on average every week.Myka and James had been on YouTube for about two years when, in July 2016, they announced they were planning to adopt a young boy with special needs from China.
Over the next year, their impending adoption was a huge part of their channel. They hosted fundraisers, answered frequently asked questions, and revealed all the ins and outs of the adoption process.In October 2017, the Stauffers welcomed their
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