This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s fall editorial intern Alayna Thomas. Find her on Instagram at @ratatoolie. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Ever since the early days of social media, family content has always been popular. When blogging first took off, mommy blogs were super popular. Since the early 2010’s, family channels and accounts have been popular on many websites, such as YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. They are considered to be family-friendly entertainment, with people of all ages tuning in. However, these channels have lately been under a more critical eye. Many people are becoming more aware of how vlogging can adversely affect the children of these families, both during their childhood and after.
The Positives of Family Vlogging
Firstly, there are some upsides to family vlogs. For one, it can be helpful to parents to get parenting tips. For those who are struggling to find out what activities to do with their children or want to find kid-friendly dinner ideas, family vlogs can be useful. Not only are you entertained, but you are getting tips to use in your own life. Additionally, these are especially useful to those with little to no support. When in doubt, they can turn to their favorite family vloggers for advice.
Likewise, if the family vlog channel is focused on a non-traditional way of life, it can help normalize their lifestyle and show other parents that they are not alone. Perhaps the parents are part of the LGBTQ community, have a child with a disability, or the family lives in a highly rural area. If viewers don’t know many others in their real life who have their shared experience or struggles, they may connect with a family vlogging channel.
Just like other influencers and creators, family vloggers gain a following and a community. Other people can discuss issues related to parenting and relationships with a group of like minded individuals. This can also help people feel less alone and have a space to get advice as well.
But, in the years since family channels have become popular, many viewers started raising concerns, especially as the children in the vlogs grew up and started to speak out.
Privacy and Digital Footprint Concerns
Today, digital footprint is a huge topic of discussion. Many people avoid posting certain content because they don’t want to lose a job or strain personal relationships. However, many people do not consider the children of family vloggers when thinking about this. Children who had family vlogger parents have a large digital footprint that may not have been entirely posted with their consent.
Cam Barrett is a TikToker with over 200,000 followers who discusses her experiences being a ‘content kid’.
Earlier this year in an interview with CNN, Barrett said that she would never forget the day she ever had her first menstrual cycle because her mother had posted it to the internet. Instances like this caused her to have anxiety and to avoid her mom because she did not want to be on camera.
Barrett also mentioned that she was bullied at school due to posts her mom made about a staph infection that she had. Strange men followed her home when she was 12 because they had seen her mom’s content online and felt some sort of connection to her.
Barrett is just one example of how someone’s safety and digital footprint can be compromised if they have parents who document their every move. For example, when these kids grow up and decide to get jobs, their future employers can search them up and find some of their most intimate and embarrassing moments.
Child Actor Laws
When children are on a set or a TV show, movie, or commercial, there are clear laws set in place for how long they can be on set. There is a clear separation between work and play. However, for ‘content kids’, the line is muddied.
For example, if a parent takes their kid to Disney World for a fun activity, would it be considered a work day if they filmed the entire outing for a couple of TikToks and a YouTube video? Would the day be tainted for the kid because their parents were more concerned about getting their angles right rather than connecting with each other?
This also brings in the question about compensation, which is a point of contention for a lot of child stars. Again, for children in traditional media, there are laws regarding how much goes to the child and to their parents. Children on social media are not so protected.
In 2023, Illinois was the first state to enact a bill to ensure that kids of family vloggers do receive compensation. The children can earn money that reflects the amount of their appearances in vlogs.
Exploitation and Staged Content
Many viewers of family vlogs also became concerned that parents could force their kids to do uncomfortable and exploitative things to go viral.
In 2021, YouTuber Jordan Cheyenne went viral because while her son was crying over the potential death of the family’s dog, she kept trying to get him to pose for the perfect thumbnail. She forgot to edit it out. The clip went viral again in 2023 and Cheyenne says that it is hard for her to move on from this incident.
There have been even more serious accusations against some channels. Most notably, Michael Martin, also known as DaddyoFive, was a family vlogger arrested and charged with child neglect, along with his wife, Heather Martin.
DaddyoFive was known for their pranks and vlogs, but users noticed how the children were being treated. One controversial video depicted his son slapping his daughter in the face. Following their conviction, YouTube banned DaddyoFive and their related channels, such as FamilyoFive, and the Martins lost custody of two out of their five children.
Another recent family vlogging channel that has received legal action is 8 Passengers. Ruby Franke is another family vlogger arrested and found guilty of four counts of child abuse to her six children. She was known for her cruel punishment and treatment of her children. Franke went viral for a video clip that circulated of her older son saying that he was made to sleep on a beanbag for months as punishment. Franke would also withhold meals from her children as punishment and would keep her son physically restrained.
Lastly, many are concerned with child sexual predators having access to these videos and photos of children. Although not every parent is posting with that in mind, you never know what someone’s intentions are. This issue was big with concern’s over a baby named Wren, whose mother seemed to be making content without her safety in mind.
A Healthy Way To Family Vlog
Although family vlogging is getting a bad reputation due to the problems above, there is a workaround that is increasing in popularity.
Many parents are now opting to blur their childrens’ faces, only keeping their backs visible to the camera, or just not showing them at all. Instead, they opt for describing the action off screen or doing a video diary instead of a vlog.
TikToker Maia Knight, who originally went viral for her videos showing her making her twin daughters daily bottles of milk, now does not show her twins’ faces on her social media. She covers them up. Likewise, she will talk about products that she and her daughters like, instead of showing them on camera.
This is a great way to continue having family style content without compromising a child’s safety and comfort. Family vlogs are here to stay but there are ways to keep it engaging while not making a child vulnerable.
What do you think? Do you like family vlogs? Do you think more should be in place to protect content kids? Let us know in the comments!
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