Youtubers who monetize filming their day to day life have secured their place in society as being some of the most financially stable workers from home. They may not all be household names, but some content creators have become relatively big in their specific “niche of youtube” having massive brands lining up to partner with them. Their lives are a confusing mix between unconventional yet somewhat relatable to the average viewer. Some youtubers live outrageously lavish lifestyles and others are just as broke as we are. And among the many channels on youtube, family vloggers have catered to a specific demographic allowing them to become widely successful.
From an ethical standpoint the essence of family vloggers sounds unintentionally bad and subject to the wrath of cancel culture. It’s hard to call out family vloggers because compared to a lot of other youtubers their videos aren’t really obnoxious and tend to be fairly wholesome content. But the more you think about it the more you notice the immorality behind it mainly due to the fact that their children can’t consent to being filmed for the whole world to see. Despite using their children’s cuteness for fame and fortune they seem to be one of the most successful channels on the platform. In the ACE family’s short 3 years on Youtube they’ve reached a whopping 17 million subscribers. To be frank, the only family vloggers I’ve come into contact with are the ACE Family. Around the first time I stumbled across their channel I was instantly interested in the concept of their content and what kept me watching their videos was the cuteness of their three year old daughter, Elle. However there is something about the fact that they center their primary income for their entire family through the undoubtedly entertaining qualities of their children that’s unsettling to me, and rightfully so. This is not me calling out the ACE family specifically because several other parents with family channels are guilty of this such as the Bratayley family, Cole&sav, and much more.
Image credit: @cole.labrant via instagram
Image credit youtube.com/bratayley
Let’s breakdown the issue. Some of my favorite shows growing up that included reasonably young child actors full house for example, created a means of regulating the hours that the child actors worked. Federal Laws are set in favor of the child actors ensuring that the money they make goes towards a bank account that they hold ownership to when they are older. But when it comes to youtube there is no set rules in place for this. I can’t help but feel that Austin and Catherine(the parents of the ACE family) have pushed their kids to be on camera at one point or the other because in my experience three year olds don’t exactly listen to everything you want them to do at any time you want them to. There’s a part of me that wants to mind my own business and believe in the idea that every parent is entitled to their way of parenting their kids. But another part of me feels like these kids will grow up, understand the situation better and possibly resent their parents for putting them in the spotlight. What happens when their children grow up and they don’t want to be the center of attention anymore? Do they just go broke? Another thing is that Youtube, technically speaking is for users over the age of 13 however this guideline is not strictly adhered by any means. This guideline is made for a reason though, the internet can be a harsh place for everyone let alone three year olds.
Of course there’s the other side of it that it’s just embarrassing. I can’t imagine having my baby years online for millions to see. When I hear my mom on the phone divulge the slightest bit of my personal information to her friends I honestly die inside so it hurts me to think that millions of people with no relationship to these kids at all know a shit ton of personal information about them. When it comes down to it, I don’t think these parents have malicious intent, its just feels like they have somewhat ignorant to the underlying repercussions of putting their kids on youtube for everyone to see.