Until Children Are Protected, Family Youtube Channels Should Not Exist
Imagine gazing back at the reflection of your 13-year-old self and turning your face to the side as you examine your once silky smooth prepubescent skin now a mountain range of bulbous acne. Overcome by waves of insecurity, you turn to your mom for advice. As you try and flip your hair to cover the blemishes, your mom whips out her Canon PowerShot and starts vlogging about your journey into adolescence while poking at your pimples, and plans to post this new video to the family vlog by next Tuesday 8 AM EST.
While this scenario sounds like a hypothetical nightmare, it is, unfortunately, a reality for children who are part of Youtube family vlog channels. Vlogging is described as “the frequent recording and uploading of personal videos, usually on Youtube.”
Family vlogging is a subdivision within this industry where families allow viewers to have access to their domestic life by posting videos about everything from their morning routines to announcing exciting life changes, such as buying a new home or revealing a pregnancy.
The popularity of this industry has skyrocketed upwards of 90% in 2017, according to Youtube. There’s clearly a market to be quenched in regards to domestic antics, and it’s fair to say that on paper, family channels provide harmless entertainment easily…