NYT article about Instagram accounts for minors

[Anonymous]

I am probably a fuddy duddy when it comes to social media so I usually try not to judge, but it was hard for me to read this article without going WTF. Do these moms really not care what their kids might feel when they grow up?

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/22/us/instagram-child-influencers.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Xk0.RrxS.nHvIOrGvQCK7&smid=url-share

[Anonymous]

I couldn’t finish the article. Really sick. Although it’s funny how it’s blaming moms. If I (a mom) tried to sexually exploit my daughters, presumably my husband would step in!!

[Anonymous]

That article is WILD.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for sharing the link.

Some of these accounts are basically soft child prn. But these parents care more about the money than their own children’s safety, honestly more than their children themselves. They sexualize thier kids. I found this quote to be telling and a load of bs. It’s about the loss of revenue rather than giving into bullies.

“Like many parents, Elissa, who received the threatening messages about her daughter’s photos, said she protected her daughter by handling the account exclusively herself. Ultimately, she concluded, the Instagram community is dominated by “disgusting creeps,” but she nonetheless keeps the account up and running. Shutting it down, she said, would be “giving in to bullies.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I couldn’t finish the article. Really sick. Although it’s funny how it’s blaming moms. If I (a mom) tried to sexually exploit my daughters, presumably my husband would step in!!

Because it’s driven by the moms. This is Dance and pageant moms on steroids. The dad‘s benefit too so they’re not going to step in but you better believe the moms are the ones pushing this. They’re just hashtagging their lives and giving away their kids for money.

[Anonymous]

Horrifying.

I have a tween DD who's into sports, and while it's nowhere near as bad, I'm still stunned by the number of girls whose parents have set up Insta accounts to promote them. I get that it's part of recruiting once they're in HS, but at age 10? WTH are you putting your kid out there?

Ick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Horrifying.

I have a tween DD who's into sports, and while it's nowhere near as bad, I'm still stunned by the number of girls whose parents have set up Insta accounts to promote them. I get that it's part of recruiting once they're in HS, but at age 10? WTH are you putting your kid out there?

Ick.

It sounded like some of the accounts mentioned in the article were basically set up like that and to show the girls’ dance costumes to other girls as part of a promotional agreement with the brands, and then the comments were taken over by gross guys. And then the moms found that they couldn’t even block all the gross accounts because there were just too many and IG limited how many blocks they could do.

The whole thing is just so crazy. It’s like the old Toddlers and Tiaras pageant world on crack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Horrifying.

I have a tween DD who's into sports, and while it's nowhere near as bad, I'm still stunned by the number of girls whose parents have set up Insta accounts to promote them. I get that it's part of recruiting once they're in HS, but at age 10? WTH are you putting your kid out there?

Ick.

Is it really a part of recruiting, or do they just say that to justify shamelessly posting their kids.

I suspect most college coaches will use some combination of their own eyes (or scouts), statistics, and actual game tape (like GameChanger games), not 8 seconds clips on Insta to recruit their athletes

[Anonymous]

Disgusting. From the article: Kaelyn, a mother in Melbourne, Australia, who like Elissa and many other parents interviewed by The Times agreed to be identified only by a middle name to protect the privacy of her child.

“But she’s been doing this so long now,” she said. “Her numbers are so big. What do we do? Just stop it and walk away?”

YES. JUST STOP AND WALK AWAY. Your job as a parent is to protect and nurture your child, not sell them for likes and influencer status. Disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Two words: Batsh!t crazy.

[Anonymous]

Horrific. But I’m also one of those moms who won’t let my kids have social media of any sort until at least 9th grade.

The harmful impacts are more and more known. That parents do this to their kids or enable kids to access on their own is unreal to me.

[Anonymous]

Social media companies have a big responsibility for this. They are making the lions share of profits. They are profiting off exploitation. Nowhere else are the profiteers exempt from the harms of their industry. Otherwise there is no incentive to stop it. I hope these kids coming of age soon sue the pants off Zuckerberg.

[Anonymous]

I am amazed at how naive some people are. I have an Instagram account closed to the public, I only accept requests to follow from family and close friends (no random suitemate from college 20 years ago or a colleague I met once at a conference), and even with that wouldn't post pictures of my DD at volleyball games because of the short shorts.

Blown away by how many parents post the quintessential volleyball pose of their daughters crouched down, butt out, from behind.

[Anonymous]

This made me sick. I was honestly shocked by this article. How are these people parents.

[Anonymous]

These mothers are basically pimping out their daughters. Disgusting and horrifying.