It’s not new for parents to expose their children on social media, but I’ve never been okay with it.
An influencer who films her baby to promote new diapers, a singer who films her 4-year-old humming her new song, a dad who posts videos of his children enjoying the dishes he prepares for them every evening, stars like Kim Kardashian who exposes the follies of her children on various platforms: it is not uncommon to come across this kind of content when browsing social networks like TikTok or Instagram.
I always feel uneasy seeing these children exposed on the internet.
I cannot understand that to promote their social networks, parents take advantage of the naivety of their children.
So many questions
How, for example, can a 2-year-old give informed consent regarding their exposure on social media?
At this age, can we really understand the extent of the reach of our image on the internet?
Too many parents ignore the dangers of exposing their child on social media. It has been proven that this content can end up in the wrong hands and be published on illegal child pornography sites.
Why take this risk? So that parent influencers can promote baby products and cash the check that comes with it?
Protect children
I strongly believe that children should be better protected by law regarding their exposure on social media.
It would be interesting if the government determined a minimum age to be able to give informed consent regarding one’s own exposure on social networks.
Also, children should be able to receive part of the profits from paid partnerships in which their parents involve them.