We can all remember when family videos existed only as a means to remember. They made our first steps, prom and holidays the memories that would be immortalized on screen. Even with the advent of social media, families could share pictures and clips online with their loved ones to expand upon the joy of seeing little Johnny score a goal or the kids going to Disney for the first time. It was endearing, and more importantly, it was harmless.
That is until some parents discovered the power of monetization.
Family vlogging, as it’s commonly known, has grown exponentially in popularity, views and infamy. While most of the content appears harmless and age-appropriate, there are deeper layers to the troubles that exist with this genre. Amid all the troubles of cruel pranks, clickbait and fabricating a perfect life, exists the issue of child exploitation and abuse for profit.
It was in August 2023 that this issue found its way into major headlines with the arrest of former YouTube mom Ruby Franke following accusations of child abuse. Franke had led the now-deleted channel, 8Passengers, to massive fame, amassing over 2 million subscribers prior to its deletion. While she documented the day-to-day affairs of her six children with her husband, Franke became notorious for her overly strict parenting style. Fans questioned the safety of her children when she openly spoke about situations such as threatening to take away the privilege of eating dinner and forcing her eldest son to sleep on a bean bag for months after taking away his bed.
Behind the scenes, Franke was engaging in severe forms of child abuse with her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, which led her six-year-old son to escape from a home he was staying at and run to a neighbor’s house for help. It was finally in December that Franke pled guilty to four of six counts of child abuse.
The Franke dilemma is one of the more severe situations for children part of the family vlogging scheme, but this matter does not stand alone regarding the controversy it creates. Often these parents realize that content creation has limitations when filming daily life and look for other methods to keep their content fresh and different. This results in taking advantage of their kids on numerous occasions and for various reasons, whether it’s their age, their emotional reactions or even their labor within the family.
Another example comes from 2021 when YouTube mom Jordan Cheyenne posted a now-deleted video showing her and her eight-year-old son’s response to their puppy contracting a deadly illness. What Cheyenne didn’t realize was that the video showed her coaching her son, instructing him to “act like you’re crying” to optimize the emotions for views. Not only is this an invasion of privacy of a child who is hearing devastating news for the first time, but it’s also a moment where his own mother is taking advantage of his emotional state for monetary gain.
Consider also the popular mommy-daughter duo on TikTok, Wren and Jaquelyn. The mother, Jaquelyn, has found success for her daughter on the app, as they’ve recently gained over 17 million followers. But, the issue is that all of the content is focused on her daughter, who is just four. Beyond the matter of consent for having her entire life online, there appears to be no consideration for Wren’s safety. Many videos display her in clothing not meant for kids her age, and what many people have found an issue with are videos that go too far and have inappropriate undertones.
While these videos have appeared to die down over time, they will never leave the internet. Though Jaquelyn has discussed the purpose for the account’s existence (which includes saving money for Wren) and her desire to keep her daughter safe online, posting videos like this will harm her regardless. With hundreds of thousands of people saving these videos of her daughter and sharing them, it is impossible to protect her from any harmful repercussions from this account.
What lies in the way of preventing exploitation is a lack of legal repercussions. So far, Indiana is the only state to have a law that protects child influencers, but only to ensure they are properly compensated. This is a good start, but stricter laws must be implemented. As social media companies and the federal government are currently working to protect kids and teens from online dangers, the same should be done for kids whose lives are stuck in family content. Since these parents won’t stop putting a price tag on their children, someone must prevent it.