The Netflix documentary 'Bad Influence' addresses the growing issues surrounding kidfluencers and the monetization of childhood by families. By exploring the blurred boundaries of parental roles and the exploitative nature of content creation, it highlights the psychological costs, including anxiety and identity confusion. Many children are filmed without their consent, reducing their autonomy, leading to potential emotional neglect and the pressure of performance over play. The documentary underscores the absence of labor protections for child influencers and calls attention to the long-lasting effects of such exposure on their well-being.
In traditional industries, such as film or modeling, child labor is regulated. But, in influencer culture, many of these protections do not apply.
When a child's daily life becomes monetized, they no longer play—they perform. Even their privacy becomes a product.
The narrative, the money, and the camera are all controlled by the parents. The boundary between caregiver and content producer collapses.
Psychologists recognize the harm of parentification, a dynamic in which children take on adult responsibilities to meet a caregiver's emotional needs.
Collection
[
|
...
]