Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – In one of the photos on the “Instagram” platform, a family of 4 (father, mother, brother and sister) appears in New Orleans, adorned with necklaces made of beads.
In another photo, the family is sitting on a hotel couch, smiling at the camera.
The Morrisons may seem like a group of secret agents living a double life. Although they live in suburban Arizona, they get to explore the world over the weekend.
The family is known as the “American Travel Family” online, and their 11,000 YouTube followers watch their experiences while visiting popular tourist destinations such as London, the Dominican Republic and Disneyland.
However, there may be a dark side by offering the lives of teens and children for public consumption.
Being held accountable
Chris McCarty, an undergraduate from the University of Washington, has launched a one-man campaign to change the way children compensate for their parents’ social media and vlogging profiles.
McCarty is encouraged to do so by a controversy that erupted when parenting blogger Maika Stauffer announced that she had given her adopted child with special needs to a different family after he appeared on her social media platforms.
In 2022, McCarty launched a campaign called Quit Clicking Kids, which aims to prevent people from exploiting children through social media for financial gain.
McCarty believes that children deserve privacy, and have their own opinions about how they appear online, especially those who are considered too young to agree.
And the most popular content creators can easily earn huge amounts annually through advertising revenue and brand partnerships.
But how can this money be dealt with? And if kids help create monetized content, does that mean they deserve a share of it?
The film and television industry has already settled its scores on these issues.
There is a law called the Coogan Law, named after a famous kid from the 1920s, Jackie Coogan, whose parents squandered his fortune.
Now, 15% of the earnings of child actors in the state of California must be deposited in a trust fund that parents or guardians cannot access.
McCarty believes there should be a new law similar to that for children who appear in online videos and social media accounts.
And even if the United States passes the laws, it is likely that they will not apply to nomadic families who do not have a fixed address, or who make their content in other countries.
And in May 2023, the Office of the US Chief Surgeon, Dr. Vivek Murthy, issued a circular on social media and children’s mental health.
“There is growing evidence that social media use is associated with harm to the mental health of young people,” Murthy said in a statement.
Empowerment or assault?
Brooke Morrison is the parent and primary documenter of her family’s experiences on American Travel Family, which launched in 2020, when her son Parker and daughter Mackenzie were 13 and 10, respectively.
Morrison said she and her husband put 15 percent of the profits they make online into credit accounts for their two children.
Morrison believes in setting strict limits on what parents share about their children online.
However, no one can really understand another person just by watching them online.
The case of Machel Hobson is a cautionary tale.
Hobson, a mother of 7, has a successful YouTube channel called “Fantastic Adventures” that features her children playing and dressing up as superheroes.
However, their real life was different from the screen version.
In 2019, Hobson was arrested and charged with two counts of child molestation, seven counts of child abuse, five counts of neglect, and five counts of unlawful confinement.
According to the police, the children were beaten and punished if they did not want to appear in front of the camera, or if they forgot their “texts”.
Before closing her social media accounts, Hobson made between $106,800 and $1.7 million annually.
New laws
McCarty believes that working statewide is the fastest way to make immediate change when it comes to the content landscape.
On August 11, Illinois became the first US state to pass such a resolution into law.
The law stipulates that a minor is entitled to a share of the profits when he appears in 30% of the influencer’s income-generating videos, within a period of 30 days.
The proceeds must be deposited into a credit account that the child can access after they turn 18.
But for some activists, the current regulations are not enough.
For example, Facebook and Instagram require users to be at least 13 years old.
However, this does not prevent parents and other adults from showing babies and children in their own accounts.
2023-08-15 10:43:06
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