Should mommy bloggers pay their kids for content?
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 12 May 2023
⏱️ 20 minutes
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Summary
Family bloggers share their lives, and their kids’ lives, online. But what happens when those kids grow up? New legislation is aiming to make sure children are protected and compensated if their parents make money off sharing their childhoods.
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Mommy bloggers have been around for more than two decades.. They share everything online, from struggles with postpartum depression to the highs and lows of having toddlers. These blogs have been helpful for parents, but when content is focused on their kids, it can feel like a violation for them.
Now, there’s legislation being put forth that might make it possible for children of family vloggers to get paid for their labor. Online culture columnist Taylor Lorenz talks with producer Jordan-Marie Smith about exactly how this might happen, and what to know about sharing any image of a kid on social media.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Depending on how old you are, the phrase mommy blog may ring a bell. |
| 0:06.6 | Before there were influencers, there were mommy bloggers, writing and posting videos |
| 0:11.4 | and photos of their lives, and sharing a lot about their kids. |
| 0:17.0 | Now in the age of TikTok and Instagram, there has been a rise in family video blogs. |
| 0:22.8 | They're called vlogs, and there's more of this content out there than ever before. |
| 0:28.3 | And more discussion than ever about the way some of this is monetized. |
| 0:33.3 | Even when parents aren't making money, there can be serious privacy implications for their |
| 0:38.5 | kids. |
| 0:39.5 | I personally love TikTok and Instagram, and I like some influencers too, but I've often |
| 0:45.0 | wondered how would it feel to be one of their kids, especially as they got older, and |
| 0:51.2 | recently some lawmakers started digging in on this too. |
| 0:55.4 | A couple months ago, a hearing happened at the Washington State legislature, and we |
| 0:59.2 | heard from Cam Barrett, who has had her life put online by one of her parents. |
| 1:04.5 | When I was nine years old, the intimate details of my first period were shared online. |
| 1:09.2 | At 12, I received a DM from a man who I didn't know who saw me riding my bike and told |
| 1:13.2 | me he followed me home. |
| 1:15.4 | At 15, I was in a car accident in which the fire department had to come with the jaws |
| 1:19.4 | of life to remove a car door off of my leg. |
| 1:22.3 | Instead of a hand being offered to hold, a camera was shoved in my face. |
| 1:29.0 | Mr. Chairman and ranking members of the committee, I plead you to be the voice for this generation |
| 1:33.9 | of children because I know firsthand what it's like to not have a choice in which a digital |
| 1:38.3 | footprint you didn't create but lose your round. |
... |
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