The idea of child celebrities isn’t completely new. Young actors have been a part of the entertainment industry for generations, experiencing fame from a young age through their work in movies and television shows.
However, the emergence of child digital influencers, or ‘kidfluencers’, introduces a type of child celebrity work that is fundamentally different from other forms of child artistic work. While acting in films or series requires specialist training and relationships with professionals, creating social media content relies on simply having a device, access to the internet, and a camera.
Today, kidfluencing has become its own industry, but one that is barely recognised. Without effective regulations, many young people are vulnerable to exploitation by companies with little protection of their rights. Kidfluencing can also have a big impact on their daily routines, education, friendships, and socioemotional development.
This blog explores the experiences of kidfluencers and their impact on their mental health and rights. It also touches on the effects of influencing culture on young people using social media, and what parents can do to help.
How Is Children’s Content Creation Commercialised?
Child influencers produce content on a diverse selection of themes with a variety of formats. They share video game tutorials, reviews of products and toys, stories and experiences, and attempts at completing challenges.
The popularity of videos is shown in different ways. Most platforms will display and record the number of views a video has, along with likes, comments, and shares. Kidfluencer accounts can also gain followers who will be automatically shown new videos and content from the account when it is released.
This process makes kid content creation easy to monetise: to turn into a mode of profit-seeking for companies, and a form of income for young people. Companies selling products aimed at children, such as toys and games, choose kidfluencers with high numbers of views and followers to advertise their products, paying a young person in return. Often, the amount a child is paid is linked to the number of views a video receives.
In some cases, child content creation moves from being a form of artistic or personal expression to a cog in the wheel of companies’ commercial enterprises, and a mode of child labour. Companies may bypass regulations to exploit kidfluencers’ content creation, making a profit from the videos they create. Specifically-oriented agencies seek to connect brands with kids and parents, with the aim of serving companies’ interests. Throughout these processes, children’s needs and wishes are sidelined, putting their well-being at risk.
Family Managers, Parentification and Role Reversal
While some children start creating content to share their personal interests or artistic expression, other children’s parents play a key role. Parents or carers can take on the task of ‘family managers’, encouraging and supporting a young person to make content with financial compensation that can be a source of income for the family. In these situations, children’s rights and wishes are often undermined, and young people experience role reversal as they take on adult responsibilities, such as financially supporting the family.
Role reversal, also known as parentification, occurs when parents expect children to assume adult roles. It’s a type of boundary dissolution, when the structure of a family system breaks down and distinct family member roles are lost. When children take on practical tasks like providing an income for the family, it’s known as instrumental role reversal.
When children assume adult roles, these responsibilities can become overwhelming and prevent them from engaging in important aspects of healthy child development, such as exploring, playing, and socialising. This can disrupt key developmental processes, like integrating experiences, forming a coherent identity, and learning emotional and social skills. Without these important skills, life can become difficult to navigate as they grow older, making them more vulnerable to mental health disorders.
Kidfluencing and Young People’s Mental Health
Kidfluencers usually spend a lot of time on social media, both following their own posts, with their comments and feedback, and the accounts of others. But constant exposure to social media can have a negative impact on their well-being and development. For example, a study in Sweden found that young people who spend more than two hours online today are more likely to feel depressed than those who spend less time online.
While not all social media use may be harmful for young people, certain patterns of internet use are linked to mental health symptoms. For example, the tendency to compare oneself to others on social media – especially those whom children may look up to – can cause kids to focus on peer evaluation, rather than appreciating themselves for who they are. Social comparison has been linked to anxiety, depression, and body image concerns.
Popular child content creators may also receive negative comments and feedback on their posts, as well as approval, likes, and shares. This experience can have a serious impact on their self-esteem, self-worth, and well-being. Children, particularly adolescents, are susceptible to the evaluation of others, and it can profoundly affect their (still-developing) sense of self and identity. Some kidfluencers even experience cyberbullying related to their fame and the content they share.
How Do Child Influencers Describe Their Experiences?
A study published last year asked young people how being an influencer had affected their relationships, education, and mental well-being. Speaking retrospectively, they described various negative impacts on their daily lives.
Balancing Content Creation and Education
Young people spoke about having to constantly create content, often getting up early before school or going to bed late. They also talked about pressure from their parents to make content even when they were tired or would have preferred not to.
Several kidfluencers described missing days of school to make content and struggling to balance the demands of creating content and school life.
Maintaining Friendships
Many young people spoke about the challenges of maintaining authentic friendships, and distinguishing them from friendships that we based on their fame or resources. They sought friendships where they were considered normal, and not a celebrity, but this could be difficult to find. They often described the frustrations of not being able to live a normal, day-to-day life.
Pressure and Isolation
Many kidfluencers described feeling isolated despite having thousands of followers. They often avoid feeling vulnerable in their relationships and keep conversations to a surface level.
Young people also spoke about the psychological impact of negative comments, especially when they were threatening or insulting.
How Does Kidfluencing Impact Young People’s Aspirations?
The prominence of kidfluencers on social media also has profound impacts on the ideas and aspirations of other young people. Research suggests that kidfluencers have the potential to alter young people’s aspirations for the future, becoming role models that other children try to emulate. This can encourage children to see success and fulfilment in terms of fame and money -and the material products that kidfluencers typically promote.
In some cases, the prospect of influencing as a career choice or aspiration may pull young people away from their education or the development of their skills and talents. It may also cause them to overlook important and valuable parts of the personality and character, instead focusing on material attributes like wealth or possessions. This can harm young people’s self-esteem and identity development.
Preventing Harm Within Influencer Culture
Protecting kidfluencers from exploitation by companies requires legislation that regulates both businesses and social media platforms and protects children’s rights. Currently, there is a huge lack of specific, effective regulations that address kidfluencing.
It’s also important for parents to have conversations with children about the kind of aspirations that kidfluencers may promote, and how they can be contextualised among other important values. Discussions about success, money, and fame, are important to help young people maintain a broader perspective on fulfilment, purpose, and sense of belonging.
Finding a balance between time spent on social media and engagement in other activities is key, ensuring the kids are exposed to a variety of life paths and aspirations. It’s good to use collaborative parenting techniques to form agreements about time spent on social media, and, if necessary, the type of accounts young people follow.
The Wave Clinic: Specialist Mental Health Support for Young People
The Wave Clinic offers specialist mental health support for young people and families. Our programs take a whole-person approach to recovery, focusing on the interpersonal relationships and past experiences that shape a young person today.
Our residential and outpatient spaces offer a diverse selection of evidence-based treatment modalities, including behavioural therapies, experiential therapies, and trauma-focused therapies. We combine exceptional clinical care with education, life-skill development, and personal growth, supporting young people to find stability, purpose, and resilience.
For parents and families, we deliver intensive programs that rescript family dynamics, identify the impact of trauma, including intergenerational trauma, on the family system, and help bring parents back into their parenting role.
If you’re interested in any of our programs, get in touch with us today. We’re here to support you.
