Childhood fame has always been associated with negative mental health effects. In particular, the documentations of persons including Lindsay Lohan, Macaulay Culkin, and Justin Bieber shows how children exposed to such fame have had issues with substance abuse and the law, which can be traced back to their exposure to fame at a very young age (Horrell, 2011; Khazan, 2014). In the current scenario, social media is furthering these issues, particularly through the YouTube family vlogging channels. These refer to channels that tend to videotape their families’ daily activities, with a specific emphasis on their babies and young children. The content can be of multiple forms, including pranks, crafts, trips, and even daily life activities. These channels have also become very popular as they provide a platform for families to “share their experiences, ask for advice, and support each other” (Dunphy, 2017). As a result, many unsuspecting young kids have been pushed into the limelight of tens of thousands of individuals. The sheer rapidity of fame that these children, as young as 1-2 years old, have been exposed to can be very traumatic to them. Understanding how this might occur and what steps could be taken to help such children is of utmost priority.
A major issue to address before analyzing the psychological impacts of family vlogging is looking is a lack of laws supporting children. In the case of traditionally famous individuals, such as singers, actors, and other performers, there exist the Coogan Laws, which regulate a child’s contract, including work hours and earnings distribution (Johnson, 2021). They also ensure, that a child is aptly provided for so as to enable them to avoid mental distress, which is seen to be effective (Bahn et al., 2013). However, YouTube has no such laws to regulate the children’s appearance on these YouTube channels, making them all the more susceptible to both popularity risks and familial pressures (Johnson, 2021).
Owing to the lack of literature in the field, it becomes important to supplement this topic with previously studied aspects of fame and family-child interactions. In regards to fame, there is still very little literature that actually explores the effects of fame on an individual, but current research shows that fame can have a negative impact on one’s self-concept, and lead to depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders (Giles & Rockwell, 2009). A paper by Donna Rockwell (2009), “Being a celebrity: A phenomenology of fame”, highlights the way in which celebrities self-reported their experiences with fame. These findings can be adjusted to child stars as well, where issues with self-concept at a young age could manifest as personality disorders and avoidant behavior may result in societal adjustment issues (Anderson, 2011).
However, there are many examples of well-adjusted child stars as well, including well-known names such as Natalie Portman, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kristen Stewart (Horrell, 2011). Horrell, in a 2011 article on Psychology Today, says the following: “Is it possible to be a child actor and develop normally? Only if the parents do what is in the best interest of the child's development and well-being.” Thus, we bring in the major aspect of familial parent-child relations, where YouTube seems to be lacking regulation. There are many examples of parental neglect and child abuse on the site, veiled under the guise of “pranks” or “difficulties with the children”. One prominent example is the now-defunct channel DaddyOFive, which was a subject of heavy debate due to the manner in which the parents dealt with their child, especially their son Cody, who was disclosed to have ODD (Talukdar, 2020). The parents often mistreated and berated him and their other children on camera, escalating to the point of death threats. Finally, YouTube stepped in and took down the channel, after which the parents also lost custody of 2 of their children (Talukdar, 2020).
This example, however, provides a blueprint for how parents tend to take their children for granted. While the child might agree to participate in the videos, they are often too young to give informed consent (Talukdar, 2020). Further, the children do not tend to be compensated due to their age and are rather manipulated into giving their earnings to the parents themselves. Cody’s case also brings up another issue with family channels - the idea of the “perfect” children. This issue can be better illustrated through the case of Myka Stauffer, who “rehomed” a neurodivergent kid she adopted from China despite being fully aware of his mental condition (Johnson, 2021). This illustrates how these channels try to portray themselves ‘picture-perfect’ family, and any deviancy from that by the child is often heavily punished.
Child abuse has been shown to cause hyperactivity in the HPA axis, which plays in an important role in the development of the stress response system (Powers et al., 2016). As a result, such alterations might make the children more vulnerable to developing PTSD or other trauma-related disorders. Further, in the case of YouTube vlogging, children often do not have the capability of separating the family from work. A paper by Rapport and Meleen studying the effects of parental attachment on adult adjustment among childhood celebrities shows that children who did not have their parents as their managers had much better familial relationships as compared to those who had parents as managers. Their study also showed the quality of parental attachment was a moderating variable between childhood fame and adult adjustment, lending more proof to the importance of parent-child relations in maintaining mental health (Rapport & Meleen, 1998).
Ultimately, we can see that using research on child performers, we can see that the YouTube family vlogging sphere tends to foster a toxic environment for the child, making them more vulnerable to various mental health issues. Future research can focus more specifically on the aspects of “social media popularity” and how that might differ in its impact on children. Strict guidelines on who can participate in YouTube videos as well as their proper implementation should be ensured by the company to ensure the mental well-being of the children and prevent their exploitation by their parents.
References
Anderson, L. M. (2011). Myself or someone like me: A review of the literature on the psychological well-being of child actors. Medical Problems of Performing Artists, 26(3), 146–149. https://doi.org/10.21091/mppa.2011.3023
Bahn, G. H., Kim, B., Hwang, J.-W., Yoo, H.-J., Min, J.-W., Kwack, Y.-S., & Hong, M.-H. (2013). The mental effects on child actors in playing a role: Observations on filming sites and interviews with filming personnel. Journal of Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 24(2), 57–64. https://doi.org/10.5765/jkacap.2013.24.2.57
Dunphy, R. (2017, April 17). The Dark Side of YouTube family vlogging. Intelligencer. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/04/youtube-family-vloggings-dark-side.html
Giles, D., & Rockwell, D. (2009). Being a celebrity: A phenomenology of fame. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 40(2), 178–210. https://doi.org/10.1163/004726609x12482630041889
Johnson, K. (2021, December 9). The dangers of family vlogging & children on YouTube. BANG. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://bcgavel.com/2021/12/09/the-dangers-of-family-vlogging-children-on-youtube/
Khazan, O. (2014, January 24). Why child stars melt down: Bieber's character split. The Atlantic. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/01/why-child-stars-melt-down-biebers-character-split/283319/
Powers, A., Fani, N., Cross, D., Ressler, K. J., & Bradley, B. (2016). Childhood trauma, PTSD, and psychosis: Findings from a highly traumatized, minority sample. Child Abuse & Neglect, 58, 111–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.06.015
Rapport, L. J., & Meleen, M. (1998). Childhood celebrity, parental attachment, and adult adjustment: The Young Performers Study. Journal of Personality Assessment, 70(3), 484–505. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa7003_7
Talukdar, N. (2020). The Adverse Effects of Family Vlogging on Children. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, 7(1), 749–756.
Horrell, W. (2011). The child performer. Psychology Today. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-the-trenches/201106/the-child-performer
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