by By Samantha Kunody
For most children in the Twenty-First Century, goofing around to fun songs and participating in video trends online is just considered playtime. But for some young influencers on Instagram or TikTok, this is a job. At first glance, a cute toddler attempting a new TikTok dance trend, or playing dress up on your For You Page, may seem adorable and lighthearted. However, behind the scenes, there is more than what meets the eye when parents become bosses and start curating their children’s image for views.
The surge in parents taking charge of their kids’ accounts, especially those of child influencers, has given rise to the term “sharents.” This development sparks worries regarding the possibility of exploitation and other associated risks. In the absence of well-defined industry standards, these parents find themselves navigating an unregulated environment reminiscent of the wild west. They shoulder the exclusive responsibility of deciding the extent of their children’s visibility, the degree of participation in content creation, and handling earnings derived from featured content.
Creators have taken to their platforms to raise awareness of the problem and advocate for change within the viral community. Critics, such as Sarah Adams through @mom.uncharted on TikTok, argue that parents who use their children as the main attraction for views and engagement may prioritize fame and financial gain over the child’s best interests. Videos such as Adam’s shown below are circulating the media daily.
The debate often revolves around ethics, privacy, and the potential impact on the child’s well-being. Involving children in social media content, especially when it becomes the primary focus of a channel, can be exploitative and may compromise the child’s privacy and emotional well-being. Concerns are raised about the long-term effects on the child’s sense of self, boundaries, and consent. There are also concerns about the potential for online harassment, cyberbullying, and the psychological effects of growing up in the public eye.
On the other hand, supporters may argue that sharing family moments can be a positive and creative way for parents to document their lives and create a sense of community. While ignoring circulating concerns regarding family channels, creators such as The ACE Family and The LaBrant Family are still receiving millions of views per video and are featured in countless Industry Trend articles.
Supporters believe that as long as content is created responsibly, respecting the child’s rights and well-being, it can be a legitimate form of expression. In all, they believe it to be about the balance between a parent’s right to share their family life and the child’s right to privacy and protection.
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Wow! This was a really interesting blog! I never looked at family channels as an invasion of privacy and exploitation of the kids involved before. This makes me question if action should be taken by YouTube to restrict the type of videos that go up on their website that involve young children? This is a very difficult ethical question that I think should be looked into more. I wonder how children of these channels might grow up in the future and if they will do the same with their families?
Hi Samantha, I loved reading your blog post! I see toddlers on my TikTok page quite frequently, but I have not thought about the possibility of exploitation. It makes one question whether these children feel comfortable being on camera and are treated well behind the scenes. In addition, I wonder how the children are affected as they grow up. Do they feel comfortable having their childhood online for the public to see? Would they have made the same decision as their parent(s)? Since these children are still growing up, it will be interesting to know their thoughts once they mature and become adults themselves.
Great post! I have never heard of the term “sharents” before, and I found that interesting. There are countless videos I have seen over the last decade of children saying cute and silly things, but when you realize that many are scripted it feels kind of weird to watch. In the last few years, I have seen this so much more on TikTok than previously on YouTube, Instagram, Vine, etc. It’s also been realized that a popular “dream job” of modern children nowadays is an influencer. This is definitely in part because children are molded to be entertained in “mom tok” and “family tok”. Kids are seeing their peers become stars, but it’s not as effortless as it seems.
Hi Samantha! There is not a day that I go by on TikTok not seeing a mom/family page with videos showing their kids. I think that there have been plenty of creators that take it too far and I have seen many videos of other creators canceling moms because of it.