“Don’t forget to like, comment, and smash that subscribe button!” says almost every YouTuber, ever. YouTube has become a platform where many creators and internet celebrities share their daily lives, creativity, and new upcoming trends. Because YouTube is a platform for all age groups, the company itself decided to step forward to creating stricter monetization rules in order to keep content children friendly (Alexander, 2020). With the rise of technology, and more children online due to the need to keep up with modern-day technology and now the global pandemic, children are constantly being exposed to the content they see on the Internet. It is no surprise nowadays seeing a toddler holding their parent’s iPhone in their hands, but what isn’t surprising now is even seeing a middle school child holding an iPhone as well.
With more children online, many have gone down what we call “YouTube rabbit holes” where they are then later exposed to content that may not have been flagged such as elsagate (Castro, 2017), or young influencers who are not that great of an influence (Hearing, 2020). With access to social media, children are being exposed to all age ranges, which begins to spark a sense of confusion within them in understanding what is trendy or what the right thing to do is. Social Media over time has become a place where many individuals find joy in receiving a large amount of followers or likes, what is also known today as “clout”, many children are looking for methods in order to get viral on platforms such as TikTok or YouTube, like the social media stars that they admire. But are these attitudes causing children to “mature” quicker than ever?
When I was in high school, all I ever worried about was receiving good grades. During a conversation with my thirteen year old cousin, she kept asking me to constantly take photos for her because she had to choose one that would gather the most likes on Instagram. She mentioned she had to wear her clothes a certain way, that she was saving up for a Gucci belt, she wanted to wear clothes like the influencers she sees on Social Media, and wants to live in a house with people her age – similar to the famous TikTok, “Hype House”.
After doing a bit of speculation of my own, it’s baffling to see how much of a difference there is in thirteen year olds today, versus thirteen year olds ten years ago. Social Media has definitely become a space where these teens post photos or videos of their lives and the things that they do, without much thought on what type of influence would follow suit once it is posted. Due to the vast age range in social media, many of these teens tend to do what they believe is trendy, although it is suited for far beyond their age range. Many of these teenagers tend to do things that can gather the most internet attention and are spending less and less time actually being kids. It’s funny to say, but I compared the photos of my teenage self versus the teenagers portrayed now in today’s social media world and I’d have to say that my teenage self looks far younger than the teens on social media. Social Media’s influence has become increasingly detrimental to these individuals, a prime example of a child that has been heavily influenced by the light of social media is Danielle Cohn, a 12 or 13 year old pre-teen who is known for wearing provocative clothing, photoshopping herself, and for doing things that is not age appropriate, however she has millions of followers on her social media platforms. Another child who has also been exploited on the internet and has also “grown up too fast” is Lil Tay, who is nine years old and has almost two million followers on instagram and is known for drug usage, wanting to fight others, and foul mouthed.
These two children are internet celebrities who gathered social media attention after acting far beyond their age. The content that they put out is constantly measured by the likes and in order to gain more likes and attention on social media, the more ridiculous their content gets. It seems as though in today’s time, kids are no longer really, just kids. Is it time for Social Media platforms to create stricter guidelines and flag content that is not appropriate? Or is it time for these large social media sites to take action when noticing this type of inappropriate behavior? Maybe even strengthen parental controls? It is definitely disheartening to see how heavy of an influence social media celebrities can be on children and also seeing them calculate their entire self-world based upon their social media metrics. Children should be children, carefree – not trying to figure out the best way to capture the most likes on social media.
https://www.moms.com/kid-friendly-youtube/
https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/8/16751206/elsagate-youtube-kids-creepy-conspiracy-theory
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