66: The Dark Underside of Family Vlogging, Part 2 with Catie Reay
Dec 4, 2023
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Catie Reay, an advocate for children online, discusses how family vlogging exploits children. Topics include the lack of protection for children, monetization of children's content, digital scrapbooks without consent, forced NDAs, and balancing social media and parenthood.
Even seemingly harmless family vlogging channels lack necessary protections, leaving children vulnerable to hypersexualization, grooming, and non-consensual use of their images.
Family vlogging culture necessitates a critical reevaluation of consent and protection for children, as posting private moments and subjecting children to public attention can lead to bullying, hypersexualization, and privacy invasion.
Comparing family vlogging to child acting highlights the lack of safeguards for children in these online platforms, emphasizing the need for protection and privacy regardless of parents' intentions or online presence.
Deep dives
The impact of family vlogging on children's well-being and privacy
Family vlogging and the shared content of children on the internet have raised concerns about the potential harm it can cause. Advocates like Katie Ray highlight the importance of protecting children online. They emphasize the need for parents to navigate conversations with their children about online safety, grooming, exploitation, and abuse. The case of Ruby Frankie, which resulted in child abuse charges, serves as a reminder that not all family vlogging channels are problematic. However, even seemingly harmless channels lack necessary protections, leaving children vulnerable to hypersexualization, grooming, and non-consensual use of their images. Legislation is being pushed in various states to address these concerns and establish safeguards for children's online presence.
Curation and monetization in family vlogging channels
Family vlogging channels curate content to present an idealized image of a happy family, selling a product to their audience. The case of Ruby Frankie provided a rare look behind the curated image, revealing the realities of mistreatment within the family. However, it is important to recognize that even channels that do not involve abuse or exploitation may still lack protections. Posting private moments, selecting provocative thumbnails, and subjecting children to public attention can lead to bullying, hypersexualization, and privacy invasion. These issues are smaller pieces of a larger problem in family vlogging culture that necessitates a critical reevaluation of consent and protection for children.
The blurred boundaries between real life and content creation
The authenticity of parenting content shared online can be deceptive. The scripted nature of some videos and the way children are directed during filming blur the line between reality and performance. Clips of family vloggers directing their children's behavior on camera highlight the psychological damage that can result. These performances are time-consuming and often done at the expense of the child's well-being and autonomy. While some argue that child actors face similar challenges, it is important to note that child actors have legal protections in place, such as limited working hours, access to education, and restrictions on the use of their likeness. Such protections are generally absent in the world of family vlogging.
The misconceptions surrounding child consent and exploitation
There is a common misconception that as long as parents have their child's consent or do not engage in abusive behavior, it is acceptable to share their children's lives online. However, child actors have experienced exploitation and adverse effects due to the pressures of their industry. Comparing family vlogging to child acting highlights the lack of safeguards for children in these online platforms. Children are incapable of fully understanding the implications of broadcasting their lives to millions of people, and their requests to remove content in the future reveal an inadequate understanding of consent when they were younger. It is crucial to recognize that children deserve protection and privacy, regardless of their parents' intentions or online presence.
The dangers and realities of children's presence online
The discussion on family vlogging and sharing children's lives online unearths the dark reality of child sexual abuse material. Predators can exploit innocent images of children taken from social media platforms and manipulate them for sexual purposes. Even seemingly harmless content can have far-reaching consequences, and the lack of effective platform reporting systems adds to the prevalent risks. Parents need to be aware of the extent to which their children's images can be misused and take steps to protect their privacy. Deleting or privatizing social media accounts, sharing limited information, and being mindful of the potential consequences of online presence are essential in safeguarding children in the digital era.
We continue our family vlogging conversation today, discussing how often our kids get put out and displayed on the internet and how that affects them. I have Catie Reay joining me to talk about how children get exploited in family vlogging. Catie was raised in a religious cult and had to overcome childhood sexual abuse. Now, she advocates for children online, dedicating her time to helping parents navigate conversations with their children about online safety. Her viewpoint will provide everyone with food for thought. Let’s dive in!
Show Highlights:
How putting children online can still have negative consequences, even if there is no abuse
Catie reveals how family vlogging channels fail to protect children from abuse, sexualization, and stalking
The controversy surrounding family vloggers who monetize their children's content
Why it's exploitative to use children for creating online content as they cannot consent to being broadcast to millions of people
How child actors face exploitation in the entertainment industry
The importance of considering children's privacy and emotional well-being when creating and consuming parenting content
How creating digital scrapbooks for children without proper consent can potentially result in long-term emotional distress
How children get forced to sign NDAs by their parents to prevent them from speaking publicly about their experiences
The challenges of balancing the demands of social media and parenthood
The importance of parents being proactive in adjusting their children’s digital habits to prevent them from being sexualized online
Why parents must protect their children’s digital footprints
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