- It raises complex ethical questions, both about monetizing children in the media, and about advertainment targeted at children who are too young to understand they're being sold to.
- It maybe demonstrates the filter-bubble in a stark way. I watch stuff on youtube a lot, but I've never heard of this kid (or really almost anyone on the top 10 list at the bottom of the article).
- It's crazy that a child can make this much money.
No idea how it actually is, but I would expect children working in blockbuster to be on the track of careful processes regarding child respect, far more than some random popular youtube channel. Of course abuses can happen anywhere.
Well if YouTube ever turns out someone as messed up as Britney spears or Michael Jackson maybe I'll be concerned but its not like children working in blockbuster/music actually have a fantastic track record
> Burroughs said he became interested in the child influencer phenomenon after his own kids asked him to do the things that Ryan’s family was doing. “I thought, ‘Oh, there’s something going on here if my kids are expecting our family to look like Ryan’s family.’ In Ryan’s family, they’re able to constantly consume content and products. They’re opening up a new toy every day, and subsequently playing with that new toy every day, so there’s this constant consumerism that’s being embedded within these messages for children.”
These videos go beyond trying to get a child to want X product - they're warping their perception of reality.
My younger son was a big fan of Ryan's channel. The family seems to be quite good at what they do. Ryan himself is telegenic, has a boundless reservoir of enthusiasm, and his parents seem reasonably careful at not excessively exploiting him (not having him do too many videos, and responsibly managing his money).
As for the consumerism: Yeah, it's absolutely blatant, but so is much of the media content for children in general. Ryan videos are a good teachable moment to discuss this (What do you think happens with all the toys the next day? etc.)
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[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 32.9 ms ] thread- It raises complex ethical questions, both about monetizing children in the media, and about advertainment targeted at children who are too young to understand they're being sold to.
- It maybe demonstrates the filter-bubble in a stark way. I watch stuff on youtube a lot, but I've never heard of this kid (or really almost anyone on the top 10 list at the bottom of the article).
- It's crazy that a child can make this much money.
Britney spears, harry potter dude, emma watson and every child actor was normal but this is abnormal exactly how?
This make me think of the case of Jake Lloyd.
> Burroughs said he became interested in the child influencer phenomenon after his own kids asked him to do the things that Ryan’s family was doing. “I thought, ‘Oh, there’s something going on here if my kids are expecting our family to look like Ryan’s family.’ In Ryan’s family, they’re able to constantly consume content and products. They’re opening up a new toy every day, and subsequently playing with that new toy every day, so there’s this constant consumerism that’s being embedded within these messages for children.”
These videos go beyond trying to get a child to want X product - they're warping their perception of reality.
As for the consumerism: Yeah, it's absolutely blatant, but so is much of the media content for children in general. Ryan videos are a good teachable moment to discuss this (What do you think happens with all the toys the next day? etc.)