Guidelines for Parents of Kids Who Want to be Social Media Influencers

Question: My child wants to become an influencer. How do I navigate this?

Answer: Many kids today are interested or at least curious about becoming social media influencers. Social media influencers are individuals who amass a large following on social media and exert signification influence over their audience through engaging content.  

Like seeing child stars in TV and movies in the 90s and 2000s, today kids are connected to other kids that they see online that are receiving “free” products and earning millions of dollars. It’s normal for your child to want to explore this opportunity.  

Here are some steps to take to determine whether being an influencer is a good fit for your child and family.   

• Explore what they are hoping to achieve. Talk with your child to figure out what their goals as an influencer might be. Is it to earn money? Is it to obtain a sense of celebrity status? Is the goal to get certain products for free?  
• Understand the developmental, legal, and health factors that go into being a kidfluencer. These factors include: 
  • Potential for increased time spent on social media. Given the excitement of audience engagement – as well as the fierce competition for attention among would-be kidfluencers – your child may end up losing sleep or spending excessive time online building their brand. Families may wish to develop a plan for media priorities and boundaries using tools like the AAP’s Family Media Plan.  
  • Pressure to promote brands or products that are unhealthy or do not align with personal values or goals. Consider what boundaries you want to set regarding the demands of any job, sponsorship or contractual opportunities they engage with.  
  • Ongoing public presence or lack of privacy. Even after a child stops being an influencer, they may still be “known” or not be able to find privacy.  
  • Tricky legal issues. Families should be aware that there is a lack of legal responsibility and legal protection for children doing this work. Thoroughly review legal documents, contracts and sponsorship agreement.  
• Consider your child’s unique developmental needs and challenges. Depending on your child’s age, they may have difficulty understanding the financial and persuasive motivations of paid kidfluencers or the pressures imposed by contracts with corporate sponsors. While 2 years olds can easily identify a familiar character, 7 years and younger do not fully understand persuasive intent. Does your child understand when they are being marketed to? Do they understand that they will be marketing to other kids? There is responsibility and impact in being a kidfluencer.  
• Weigh the positives: 
  • There is an opportunity for kidfluencers to earn substantial revenue, sponsorship opportunities and the potential to engage or receive new products firsthand for free.  
  • Your child is interested in expanding their skills, having the courage to showcase themselves and make an impact.  
  • This is an opportunity for you as a parent to learn, grow, and connect with your child.  
• Educate your child. If they will have access to social media, educate them about how to use social media in a way that is heathier and safer. There are many resources you can use. For example, Ready Set Screen's Social Media Driver’s License program helps teens ages 10-14 build healthier, safer habits around smartphones and social media. It includes interactive learning for teens and practical guidance for parents. Note: There is a $29 fee for access to all of the content in both the parent and teen courses. 

Once you and your child are on the same page about expectations and requirements of this journey, remember to keep open communication with your child and pediatrician. If being an influencer begins to negatively impact your child’s important health behaviors like sleep or increased stress, it may be helpful to cut back and consider talking to your pediatrician.  

References: 

• Abidin, C. (2021). Pre-school stars on YouTube: Child microcelebrities, commercially viable biographies, and interactions with technology. In L. Green, D. Holloway, K. Stevenson, T. Leaver, & L. Haddon (Eds.) The Routledge Companion to Digital Media and Children (pp. 226-234). Routledge.   
• Alruwaily, A., Mangold, C., Greene, T., Arshonsky, J., Cassidy, O., Pomeranz, J. L., & Bragg, M. (2020). Child Social Media Influencers and Unhealthy Food Product Placement. Pediatrics, 146(5), e20194057.  
• De Veirman, M., Hudders, L., & Nelson, M. R. (2019). What Is Influencer Marketing and How Does It Target Children? A Review and Direction for Future Research. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(2685), 1–16.  
• ‌Hudders, L., De Jans, S. & Beuckels, E. (2024). Kidfluencers and the Commodification of Childhood: A Comprehensive Review and Research Agenda in Contemporary Entertainment. In B. Feijoo & E. Fernandez Gomez (Eds.), Advertising Literacy for Young Audiences in the Digital Age: A Critical Attitude to Embedded Formats (pp. 65–83). Springer Cham.  
• ‌International Labour Organization (2024). What is child labor. Accessed online December 17, 2024.   
• Masterson, M. A. (2021). When Play Becomes Work: Child Labor Laws in the Era of “Kidfluencers.” University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 169(2), 577–607. Accessed online September 13, 2024. 
• Nicoll, B., & Nansen, B. (2018). Mimetic Production in YouTube Toy Unboxing Videos. Social Media + Society, 4(3), 205630511879076.   
• Pacht-Friedman, J. (2022). The monetization of childhood: how child social media stars are unprotected from exploitation in the United States. Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and Social Justice, 28(2), 361-388.                              
• Paraskeva, N., Haywood, S., Hasan, F., Nicholls, D., Toledano, M. B., & Diedrichs, P. C. (2024). An exploration of having social media influencers deliver a first-line digital intervention to improve body image among adolescent girls: A qualitative study. Body Image, 51, 101753.   
• Pew Research Center. (2020). Parenting Children in the Age of Screens. Accessed online December 17, 2024.   
• Pew Research Center. (2024). Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024. Accessed online on December 17, 2024.   
• Radesky, J., Chassiakos, Y. (Linda) R., Ameenuddin, N., & Navsaria, D. (2020). Digital Advertising to Children. Pediatrics, 146(1), e20201681.  
• Raffoul, A., Ward, Z. J., Santoso, M., Kavanaugh, J. R., & Austin, S. B. (2023). Social media platforms generate billions of dollars in revenue from U.S. youth: Findings from a simulated revenue model. PLOS ONE, 18(12), e0295337–e0295337.  

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Age: 0-18-months 

Topics: Early childhood, infants, pacing, media content, screen time in infancy, music and child development, music and parenting, music interventions for kids 

Role: Parent