Is that just a kid having fun, or a kidfluencer subtly selling glasses and headphones? iStockPhoto // junce
parental profiteering
Children have become a not-so-hidden workforce of fame and fortune on social media platforms. In their article “Children as Concealed Commodities: Ethnographic Nuances and Legal Implications of Kidfluencers’ Monetisation on TikTok,” researchers Tom Divon, Taylor Annabell, and Catalina Goanta expose the ways child-based videos can double as parental profit machines. Published in New Media and Society, this study brings focus to the blurred lines between childhood fun and digital exploitation.
The research team draws upon 215 TikTok videos from 23 kidfluencers across Israel, New Zealand, and the United States to examine how children’s video content blends play and adorable qualities with monetized interests. Beyond these online ethnographic observations, the researchers conducted a legal analysis, comparing TikTok’s governance of child-related content to the European Union’s Digital Service Act to identify gaps in online monetization regulations and child labor laws. Together, their findings show parents using a variety of practices to build child-focused business models, such as integrating creative, fun, and engaging child-centered content with sponsored and paid product placements. Frequently, parents displayed children as props; when children interacted with the sponsored products, their playful curiosity was leveraged to gain monetized views. Kidfluencers’ parents also developed two idealized images of youth to attract viewers. One cohort framed child life as playful and fun while the second embedded childhood in religious, cultural, and traditional values. These findings set the stage for a discussion of the gaps between governmental policy and organizational regulations that allow parents to exploit their kids for profit.Indeed, the use of kidfluencers on TikTok highlights a legal and ethical oversight: child labor laws lag behind as ever-changing digital platforms forge ahead. As the digital economy evolves, it is worth asking how policy can balance innovation with the obligation to protect the vulnerable from exploitation?
