Shelens Subway Takes episode about child influencers is on point
British content creator Shelen appeared on "Subway Takes" with strong words about parents who feature their kids in TikTok videos.
Kareem Rahma's Subway Takes series takes aim at the issue of parents exploiting their children for TikTok fame in a recent episode. The British content creator and presenter Shelen debated the ethics and legality of forcing kids to create content for social media. Shelen argued that making children work as influencers is far from harmless fun and constitutes child labor.
She criticized parents for treating their kids like employees, requiring them to "clock in" like they're earning a wage. The host detailed the various risks children face, from financial exploitation to dangers of online sexual exploitation and the potential for AI to manipulate their images. While the UK lacks specific laws governing child influencers, Shelen noted that current child labor laws don't apply to online content creation.
In the U.S., some states have enacted laws protecting child influencers, but the legal landscape remains murky. Shelen expressed hope that such laws will evolve to better protect young creators in the future.
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