Digital Child Labour - The Phenomenon of “Kidfluencers”
Opinion analysis by Myriam Whaibe, Visiting Contributor
November 15th, 2021
Adding stories, creating content, sharing everyday life moments, collaborating with international brands, receiving PR packages, modeling, and earning money. This is a brief job description that thousands of children around the world find themselves using nowadays. When children work, we simply categorize that as “Child Labour” without even giving it a second thought. When we usually talk about child labour, we tend to imagine lower-class uneducated families sending their children to work, unaware of the damage that is being done to them. However, the concept is evolving, just like everything else in the world. Today, influencers, who are usually part of the higher-class, educated and sophisticated families are now “sending their kids to work”, from the comfort of their own homes, and turning them into “Kidfluencers”. This new term is a colloquial one used to refer to a child who is an influencer on social media.
Nowadays, influencers have become very dominant and present in our online environment and are a part of our daily lives and routines today. In 2019, the word “influencer” was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and is defined as “a person who is able to generate interests in something (such as a consumer product) by posting about it on social media”. According to Forbes, 54% of Americans between the ages of 13 and 38 would become an influencer if given the opportunity. Even if this social media job is relatively new, it has become a very important part of every branding strategy and influencers have become important spokespeople for brands. Since many of these influencers provide their viewers with an intimate look into their private lives in order to get more views and reach a wider audience, it is not surprising that children increasingly became part of their parents’ social media content – which in turn gave rise to the phenomenon of Kidfluencers. After The “Shaytards”, who were practically the first family on YouTube since 2009, countless family vlogs have seen the light of day, whereby these families would document every aspect of their lives – from pregnancies, to gender reveals, to children’s first steps, temper tantrums, acne breakouts, heartbreaks, birthday parties and so much more. While this might seem like an exception to the rule, the Pew Research Center stated in a study that three-quarters of parents use social media accounts, and that most parents do not feel uneasy when others post information about their children online. Additionally, according to the Times in a survey conducted in 2010, it clearly showed that more than 90% of children already have an established online presence before the age of 2. Given the potential to earn large amounts of money through sponsored posts, combined with the fact that videos featuring young children receive nearly three times as many views as other videos, many parents feel encouraged to post content with their children in order to receive compensation, both in terms of money and views. With such high-stake opportunities, there is a risk that “wannabe influencer parents” will exploit their children to the detriment of their education, privacy, identity, and general well-being overall. However, with the ethical qualms that we may have regarding this new phenomenon, it is clear that the Kidfluencer marketing industry is here to stay. In fact, a study conducted by T.Mooney, has predicted that the industry would keep on growing, reaching a staggering $15 billion by 2022, which is twice the amount that was reached in 2019 and this is caused by the rise in technology, social media and the digital world overall. All of this comes with many potentially negative effects on children’s physical and mental well-being, development, privacy, and identity. Therefore, regulators must carefully balance between appropriate levels of protection and respect the rights and obligations of other stakeholders, as well as those of the children themselves.
In reality, Kidfluencers fit within the current legal frameworks as they can be protected against exploitative practices because of the environment that they are put in. It is arguable that certain Kidfluencer activities can be characterized as economic exploitation, according to Article 32 CRC, which “recognizes the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development”, as these children are considered to be engaging in a form of digital child labour.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), child labor is often defined as: “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to their physical and mental development. It refers to work that is: mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children, and/or interferes with their schooling.”.
For instance, when a 7-year-old girl is being “forced” to model and create daily content for her millions of followers, this is clearly depriving her of her childhood: she can’t play freely, and this is psychologically harmful for her mental development. In fact, parents will usually object to the idea that their children’s immense presence on social media is categorized as child labour and needs to be punished because they suggest that this was a choice and that their children seem very happy and comfortable around the camera, yet they fail to see how the behind the scenes truly look like. However, these parents frequently overlook the harm of exposing their children’s lives to very large audiences, and tend to forget that a 10-year-old is not completely aware and mature to be able to differentiate between right and wrong and it is the parents’ responsibility to protect them from any possible harm, because when they are able to earn significantly large amounts of revenue from recording and posting their children’s lives online, the relationship between the parent and the child might shift towards an employment relationship; they will do what is necessary to earn money first, and the child’s well-being will come second. The phenomenon of Kidfluencers also raises questions about children’s rights to privacy and identity. Many parents upload videos and pictures without even considering that they are creating digital footprints that their children are completely unaware of, let alone being able to consent to. Indeed, this is alarming, since giving consent is not optional, but crucial, no matter the age, especially when someone is affecting another person’s image and is exposing them to such a big audience. Therefore, the child should always freely give agreement to what is proposed, and if the parents think that they are too young to be able to make a choice, they might reconsider their decision. The internet is everlasting, and with their digital identities being somewhat solidified, children may be hindered in discovering and developing their own sense of self with time. Thus, children must also be given the opportunity to participate online and to choose how they wish to present themselves. Again, consent is crucial, and parents tend to think that it is normal for them to make decisions without asking their child first. However, the child should never be seen in the public eye, all while creating content without agreeing to an action based on their knowledge of what that action involves and what are its likely consequences as well.
Also, we can’t deny that being present on social media and taking part in creating content is certainly a way for children to develop their creative skills and may lead them into the art world. It would also help them experiment and express themselves: to connect with people and become more sociable. In addition, as children grow and mature, they should be able to make their own decisions about whether or not they wish to engage in social media. In other words, balance is key in this critical situation: between respect for the evolving capacities of the child and necessary protection from harm.
Bee Fisher, the mother of three Instagramer boys, once stated that: “If there are days, they’re totally not into it, they don’t have to be … Unless it’s paid work. Then they have to be there. We always have lollipops on those days.”. This statement is in fact dangerous, as it shows that the parents are being money-driven and are unfortunately putting their business first and their child second. Therefore, laws have to interfere to regulate this dangerous reality.
According to the Library of Congress , on October 19th, 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron promulgated a new law on the commercial use of images of children under 16 years old on online platforms. This law, which was adopted by the Senate on June 25th, 2020, and was adopted unanimously by the National Assembly on October 6th, 2020, aims to provide a legal framework for the activities of “influencer” children on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and other online platforms. This new legal framework fills an important void, as the work of child influencers was largely unregulated and their work could easily be exploited by their parents. Any earnings they make will be safeguarded in a bank account that they can only access when they turn 16. These legal frameworks should exist everywhere in the world, as it is now a global phenomenon.
In reality, nothing is more important than protecting kids and their privacy. These underage vulnerable people lack psychological, professional, and financial protection. And even though some parents claim that no harm is being done to their kids and that they still have their parental rights and freedom to choose what their kids do, the law has to interfere in this case as the harm is present and clear, whether these parents admit it or not. As we transition into a new digital age, legislators must keep up the pace, by creating new regulations and laws applicable all over the world in order to be able to protect those children from the harm that comes with social media and being Kidfluencers.
Sources:
- https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/01/business/media/social-media-influencers-kids.html