logo
Kids, Inc.

Kids, Inc.

New York Times16-04-2025
The scenes leave a pit in your stomach. In Netflix's 'Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing,' two early teenagers are pressured to kiss by adults — a parent and a videographer — on camera. Hulu's 'The Devil in the Family: The Ruby Franke Story' shows the dramatic footage of Franke's 12-year-old son showing up at a neighbor's door with duct tape markings around his ankle, asking them to call police.
The pair of documentaries, released this year, shine a light on the perils of child-centered online content. 'Bad Influence' examines claims of abuse and exploitation made by 11 former members of the teen YouTube collective 'The Squad' against Tiffany Smith — who ran the YouTube channel, which drew two million subscribers — and her former boyfriend Hunter Hill. Both denied the allegations, and the suit was settled for a reported $1.85 million last year.
Ruby Franke, a mother of six, pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse in 2023 after denying her children adequate food and water and isolating them as she built a family YouTube channel that amassed nearly 2.5 million subscribers before it was taken down. She will serve up to 30 years in prison.
Concerns about the treatment of child entertainers have abounded since the days of Judy Garland and through last year's 'Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,' in which former Nickelodeon actors described performing under harmful and sexually inappropriate conditions. Less examined is the working world of child influencers, who are now speaking out about the harsh, unsafe or emotionally taxing constraints of being broadcast by their parents.
Viewers may be tempted to ask, 'Aren't there laws against this?'
'We have pretty documented evidence of the troubling pipeline for Hollywood and child actors, but we don't have nearly similar numbers for child influencers, primarily because the phenomenon of influencing is so young,' said Chris McCarty, the founder and executive director of Quit Clicking Kids, an organization dedicated to stopping the monetization of minors. 'A lot of the kids are too young to even really fully understand what's going on, let alone, like, actually speak out about their experiences.'
Child entertainer laws — which in some cases make provisions for minors' education, set limits on working hours and stipulate that earnings be placed in a trust — regulate theatrical industries. The world of content creators, where an account with a sizable following can generate millions of dollars a year for creators, is largely unregulated.
McCarty worked with the California legislature to draft an amendment to the Coogan Law, legislation passed in 1939 that requires employers to set aside 15 percent of a child actor's earnings in a trust. In September 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed Senate Bill 764, mandating that creators who feature children in 30 percent or more of their content set aside a proportioned percentage of their earnings into a trust for the child to access when they turn 18. The law went into effect this year and made California the third state (along with Illinois and Minnesota) to adopt financial protections for children featured in social media content.
Some notable family vloggers uprooted from California for Tennessee in the immediate aftermath. The LaBrant family, whose YouTube (12.8 million subscribers) and TikTok content (the mother, Savannah, has 30.3 million followers) mainly revolves around their five young children, explained their move to Nashville in a post, saying 'We truly feel like this is where God is calling our family.'
Brittany Xavier, a prominent TikTok creator with over 3 million followers whose content mostly showcases her three children, attributed her move to Nashville to finding mold in her family's California rental house.
They did not respond to requests for comment, nor did they cite the new law as the reason for their departures, but commenters on their videos and on Reddit have speculated about whether the new legislation contributed to their moves.
The amendment to the Coogan Law could be a starting point to more regulation. 'The law can also be expanded to make sure that kids have boundaries on their working hours and protections in terms of being guaranteed education,' said Mary Jean Amon, an assistant professor at Indiana University who specializes in research on parental sharing and beliefs about autonomy and consent.
That might prove difficult given the lack of boundaries between work and home for child influencers. In 'The Devil in the Family,' the Franke children protested rarely having any time off from making content — outtakes from their vlogs showed one of the family's sons, Chad, who is now 20, being told to answer with more enthusiasm when he was tired and didn't want to be on camera. 'It felt more like a set than a house,' Shari Franke, 22, says in one scene in the documentary.
'For kid influencers, those cameras are ubiquitous since most of the adults around them will have one in hand at virtually all times,' Amon said. 'Rather than playing characters, child influencers are observed as themselves, while also being heavily rewarded for pandering to the desires of strangers, and sometimes they're punished for failing to do so.'
Those follower-strangers represent a danger far more difficult to address. Deja Smith, a stay-at-home mother from the Houston area, creates lifestyle videos for Instagram and TikTok, where she has a following of about 140,000. She shared details and images of her newborn daughter for most of the first year of her life until strangers started recognizing her child in public and leaving upsetting comments on social media. After reading more about the ways users can manipulate children's images through artificial intelligence and search for personal information like an address through photos, she wiped images of her daughter from the internet altogether.
'I honestly feel uncomfortable watching other family vloggers' accounts that are centered around their kid,' Smith said. 'I'm not interested, and I block because I don't want to be a part of that or supporting that kind of content.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Worcester city councilor pleads not guilty to assaulting police during chaotic ICE interaction
Worcester city councilor pleads not guilty to assaulting police during chaotic ICE interaction

Boston Globe

time6 minutes ago

  • Boston Globe

Worcester city councilor pleads not guilty to assaulting police during chaotic ICE interaction

'As both a mother and an elected official, I will always stand up for my constituents, particularly women and children,' Haxhiaj told reporters outside court, per footage that MassLive Advertisement Supporters erupted in cheers as the councilor spoke, but police framed her actions differently in an incident report filed with the court. The report said Worcester police on May 8 responded to the area of 36 Eureka St. for a report of a large group 'surrounding federal officers.' Responding city officers learned federal agents had made an arrest and that members of the large group were yelling at them and 'interfering' with their efforts to safely leave the area with the person they'd placed into custody, the report said. The incident report didn't identify the federal agencies involved in the arrest, but Haxhiaj, the report said, was allegedly seen 'pulling the restraints of the arrested as they were being escorted to the transport vehicle.' Advertisement She also allegedly 'continued to obstruct the federal officers as they attempted to leave the area,' the report said. Worcester Police Officer Shauna McGuirk approached Haxhiaj as the councilor held onto the side mirror of the transport vehicle, telling her 'several times' to move away, according to the report. It said Haxhiaj 'ignored several verbal requests' and allegedly pushed the officer away by 'striking P.O. McGuirk in the chest.' A few minutes later as McGuirk was arresting someone else, the report continued, Haxhiaj 'approached P.O. McGuirk from the side and pulled at P.O. McGuirk's arm.' That alleged act of civil disobedience 'interfered with the arrest and caused officers to divert their attention to Haxhiaj and away from the arrest,' the filing said. The Globe Outside court Wednesday, supporters of Haxhiaj cheered when she said she'd entered a plea of not guilty, according to the YouTube footage. 'I am resolute and unapologetic in maintaining my innocence,' Haxhiaj said. 'The overwhelming number of Worcester residents and Americans across the country are opposed to armed, masked men snatching our people off our streets and neighborhoods, terrifying mothers, children, fathers, families, and whole communities.' She said that while it's 'disappointing and disheartening to invest time, effort, and resources fighting these charges, it is absolutely nothing compared to Worcester families living in fear of being torn apart.' Haxhiaj also said she would 'always, now and forever, stand up and stand by our immigrant brothers and sisters, our neighbors, who are facing a horrific regime.' Advertisement Her next court date is scheduled for Sept. 25. Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report. Travis Andersen can be reached at

Netflix's new psychological thriller movie is an unnerving descent into madness — but there's a problem
Netflix's new psychological thriller movie is an unnerving descent into madness — but there's a problem

Tom's Guide

time6 minutes ago

  • Tom's Guide

Netflix's new psychological thriller movie is an unnerving descent into madness — but there's a problem

Netflix is going big on thrillers lately, and you can't blame the streaming service either. Its subscriber base seems to gobble up intense and twisting flicks with glee, so there's a good chance 'A Normal Woman' will be the latest original to make a real splash. It wouldn't surprise me if this Indonesian psychological thriller resonates. There's quite a lot to like here, from the hooky premise of a woman slowly spiralling into madness as her seemingly perfect life crumbles, to the strong leading performance from Marissa Anita. But its strengths are mostly skin-deep. Underneath the intrigue and the unsettling moments (of which there are quite a few), director Lucky Kuswandi never manages to elevate the proceedings above its daytime TV tone, and it can be quite a patience-testing watch. Curious to know more? Here's everything you need to know about 'A Normal Woman' to help you make the call on whether to add it to your Netflix watchlist or give this one a skip. Milla (Marissa Anita) has a seemingly perfect life. She's the wife of a successful businessman (Dion Wiyoko), and living in luxury, her list of problems or stresses seems to be extremely small. However, looks can be deceiving, and the pressure to be perfect weighs heavily on her. And this anxiety begins to manifest itself in increasingly skin-crawling ways. First, as a rash on her neck before spreading to cover her entire face. And the itching becomes unbearable. Under the stern eye of her mother-in-law, Liliana (Widyawati), Milla's sanity begins to spiral, and she also struggles to recall her childhood. It's not long before dark secrets surface. 'A Normal Woman' dives deep into the pressures that come with trying to keep up a facade. Initially, Milla appears to have it all, but it quickly becomes apparent that her perfect life is anything but a dream. She faces relatable insecurities and lacks a sense of self and direction. It certainly doesn't help that the people around her do little but pile on more pressure. Her husband seems far from concerned about her struggles, more annoyed to be 'forced' to deal with her problems, and her mother-in-law is quite a nasty piece of work. Blaming Milla's woes on things like not attending church regularly, while doting endlessly on her son. Milla is also struggling to raise her young daughter, who has deep insecurities of her own, bemoaning her appearance, and desperate for plastic surgery to make herself feel pretty. You probably won't be surprised to know that her self-loathing is only exacerbated by scrolling social media, observing people who present themselves as impeccably put together. When Milla's rash breaks through, it starts small, just a small red patch on her neck, but as her psyche cracks further, and she can't help but scratch, it becomes a festering wound, leaking blood and spreading across her entire face. It's an effective way of showing Milla's troubles bubble to the surface, and for body horror fans, it's effective enough to make you itch your own skin. Throw in the mystery surrounding Milla's childhood, surreal nightmares and teasing glimpses of a dark past, and 'A Normal Woman' has plenty to hook viewers in its early stages. But despite its initial narrative strength, it has quite a soap-opera-like quality, often opting for a melodramatic approach. "A Normal Woman" has grand ideas, exploring its characters' deep-rooted insecurities and incorporating uncomfortable elements of gaslighting, but it often presents them in ways that feel cheap and look more than a little shoddy. Poor green screening on some outdoor scenes doesn't help this issue. However, I think what will really turn some viewers away is the plodding pacing. The movie clocks in at almost two hours, but barely has enough material for a 90-minute movie. It labours its central point, with multiple scenes dedicated to the same idea and repeating details endlessly. I don't mind a slow-burn thriller, but 'A Normal Woman' lays down its cards very early on and has precious few tricks up its sleeve to keep you invested until the very end. Answering this key question is surprisingly tricky. 'A Normal Woman' has quite a bit to say, and much of it is valuable. It's a relatable feeling to be fixated on your outward appearance, and to struggle with anxiety about how you're perceived in the pressure cooker of modern life. But, at the same time, 'A Normal Woman' has a lot of major faults that make it quite a slog to sit through. Too often it trades subtlety for melodrama, and it forgets that sometimes less or more. Plus, I feel the slow-burn pacing is going to be a dealbreaker for an awful lot of viewers. Genre fans may want to give this new psychological thriller a chance, but I expect many people will switch off before they can reach the ending. And considering it doesn't do enough to retain your interest for almost two hours, I can't exactly blame anybody for deciding to dip out early. 'A Normal Woman' seems destined to go down as a Netflix thriller movie with interesting ideas that never quite coalesce into a truly satisfying whole. It could have been a must-watch, but instead is ultimately merely passable. Another Netflix movie that will get lost in the platform's vast library. Which, in some ways, is more irritating than even the itchiest rash. Looking for more Netflix recommendations? Check out our guide to all the new movies on Netflix in July 2025. Or why not try the streamer's new twist-filled thriller with a shocking ending? Watch "A Normal Woman" on Netflix now

Hulk Hogan, WWE Hall of Famer and wrestling legend, dead at 71
Hulk Hogan, WWE Hall of Famer and wrestling legend, dead at 71

USA Today

time6 minutes ago

  • USA Today

Hulk Hogan, WWE Hall of Famer and wrestling legend, dead at 71

WWE icon Hulk Hogan has died at the age of 71. The news was first reported by TMZ on Thursday, July 24. WWE confirmed the news. "WWE is saddened to learn WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan has passed away," the company said in a statement. "One of pop culture's most recognizable figures, Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the 1980s. WWE extends its condolences to Hogan's family, friends, and fans." Hogan was influential in the rise of wrestling worldwide and was WWE's first major star. He was a six-time WWE Champion and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame twice, once in 2005 and in 2020 as part of the New World Order. He made his last appearance for WWE in January at the Netflix debut of Monday Night Raw in Inglewood, California. (This story will be updated with more information.)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store