Do Family Vlog Channels Create Child Exploitation?
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In recent years, family channels have shifted from casual digital vlogs meant to document their lives into full-scale business enterprises in which children are often the central assets. While not every family channel is essentially exploiting their kids, the structure of their vlogs do create conditions that could amount to child exploitation.
Many parents who begin vlogging do not have the intention to harm their kids. They may want to just document memories and create a sense of community. However, when videos that feature a child’s daily life suddenly start generating thousands of dollars, the dynamic changes. Parenting becomes intertwined with production, making moments staged for the audience. The children in these videos cannot meaningfully consent. They do not understand the economic value that their presence brings. Young children cannot grasp what it means when strangers online watch them cry, get disciplined, and go through personal struggles. Family vloggers effectively employ their children because they are motivated by profitable brand deals and algorithmic schemes.
The consequences of these blurred boundaries become disturbingly clear with Ruby Franke and her once wildly popular Youtube channel, 8 Passengers. Franke built a brand around parenting with her six children, accumulating millions of subscribers. But in 2023, a darker reality was revealed when her malnourished and wounded 12 year-old son escaped to the neighbour’s house. Franke eventually pleaded guilty with multiple counts of aggravated child abuse. This case revealed that the discipline meted out was extreme and intertwined with her public vlogging channel.
Another prominent example is the LaBrant family with Cole and Savannah LaBrant. Their channel has come under backlash for manipulating the content of their children with over-the-top thumbnails. One controversial video back in 2021 was titled “She Got Diagnosed with Cancer. (Documentary).” The thumbnail and title had made viewers fear that one of their children had cancer – but this wasn’t the case. The staged video drove massive viewer engagement, but made fans feel misled. Adding to the scrutiny, the family announced a relocation from Calif. to Tenn. in 2023. Some people observed the timing–Calif. had just announced Senate Bill 764, also known as the Child Content Creator Rights Act, which requires parents to deposit a share of earnings into a trust account for their children. Critics theorized that their move to Tenn. was a strategy to avoid setting money aside for their kids.
That said, not all family vlog channels operate this way. Some parents film responsibly, limit their children’s presence online, and ensure revenue for their child’s future. However, entertainment platforms reward drama and frequency, which pushes families to chase that reward by running around with a camera.
Ultimately, children deserve to grow up without being turned into content. While vlogging itself is not inherently harmful, the patterns of the practice within family-focused channels lean towards exploitation. As long as the financial incentives continue and the regulations remain weak, the unethical dynamic will persist into the fabric of family vlogging.