Family vlogging – the ‘art’ of filming your children for monetary and/or fame gain – is a dangerous game that parents all over the world are playing with their children’s lives. Fortunately this ‘art’ is dying out. Unfortunately it is still way too prevalent and accepted in society.
At Christmas especially, family vlogging is at it’s worst. Children are used daily for click/views/likes/dollars. Their audience love the Christmassy vibes and other children in particular love to prepare for their own Christmas by watching other kids open gifts and do Christmas activities. This is understandable, to a degree. It doesn’t make it right, though.
Remember, behind every gift you watch a ‘kidfluencer’ open, there is a parent directing them to do so; every scream and thrill there is a director (mom/dad); and every ‘relatable’ Christmas activity there is a dollar sign.
We as society need to put an end to family vlogging and teach our kids it’s not okay to destroy another child’s life just for your own entertainment.
If we start clicking off, they will begin to die out. This is the only way.
What’s wrong with filming your kids?
FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION
- These videos are filmed to make money out of children
- Children should never be the main breadwinner in a household
- A child should not be responsible for paying the bills, rent, mortgage
PRIVACY EXPLOITATION
- Children have their privacy stripped from them
- We often know every last intimate detail about a stranger’s child
SAFETY CONCERNS
- A child could be recognised in the street
- Filming a child’s bedroom or house layout endangers that child
PREDATORS
- Every child’s image/video clip could be taken by people with bad intentions
- Child’s image distributed on the dark web
- Children’s videos being used by predators/paedophiles for their own ‘pleasure’
AI CONCERNS
- Child’s image can we used to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM)
- A clothed image of a child, using AI, can be ‘de-clothed’
SEXTORTION
- People with bad intentions can blackmail a child with inappropriate images of them
INFORMED CONSENT
The debate over the age a child can give informed consent is ongoing as different children develop mentally at different rates. By the age of 16, though, they should be able to understand. However, certainly a baby, a toddler, five year old, ten year old will NOT understand that…
- There are predators watching their every move
- What these predators do with their images
- Their private moments will never be private again
- They are living in danger every day
- They are NOT responsible for paying for their parent’s lifestyle
Please just CLICK OFF this Christmas (and in general), don’t give any of them a view/money. Do not finance this exploitation any longer. Enough is enough.
