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<\/strong>You Tube is the second largest search engine in the world and has over 2.5 billion users worldwide (GMI.com). With such a massive user base, the world has seen You Tube, along with other social media platforms including Tik Tok and Instagram, become viable ways to build a career by gaining massive followings and then monotonizing content. This high level of popularity world-wide sparked the beginning of family vlogging and with it, the ethical dilemma of having minors\/ children share every detail of their lives while being underage and not legally capable of giving consent. With media ethics considering the scope of the human condition and autonomy, how can a child be able to give their consent to participate in family content that is broadcast for the world to see<\/p>\n\n\n\n The surge of mini influencers, family bloggers, and minors on large public social media platforms has sparked massive public backlash, forcing legislature in some states to step in and provide lawful guidance on how children should be compensated. Law makers have started to see the necessity of protecting minors and children on social media and have started addressing this issue as social media proliferates our lives, but this is no new topic when considering child stars who have been in the lime light at very young ages and chose to become emancipated from their parents and guardians due to mishandling of their earnings and abusive and neglectful behavior. Childhood stars such as Jenna Malone, Taylor Momsen, and Ariel Winter, to name a few, all legally stepped away from their family after reports of abuse, being \u201cpushed\u201d into the entertainment business, and mismanagement of money (People.com). Whether frustrated over parental spending habits and lost fortunes, or feeling used, abused, or as if they were forced into an industry they did not consent to be a part of, child stars shone a bright light into the world of show business and the ethical considerations that become intertwined with being a public figure before you even are aware of what that really means. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While the world of family vlogging, at face value, consists of wholesome and authentic content, one quick google search reveals that the platform has been under major scrutiny from the public related to how \u201csafe\u201d it is for children as increasing scandals and major concerns over exploitation continue to rise. For the sake of this case study, we will review one of these heavily scrutinized families who call themselves, The Dougherty Dozen, but make no mistake that this is just one channel out of so many that could be considered for this study. One such alternate family vlog that comes to mind is \u201c8 Passengers\u201d who\u2019s now infamous Mormon-mom Vlogger Ruby Franke is currently incarcerated for highly abusive behavior toward her younger children. But this is low hanging fruit. Franke revealed overtly abusive behaviors online, treating her children as if she was a dictator. This study will focus on the more insidious and less obvious ways minors can be exploited and permanently impacted\/affected by being put on such public platforms at young ages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Case Study Questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. What are the current laws put in place, if any, to protect children and minors who are on YouTube and other platforms and are these protections only in consideration of monetary gain, or do they also consider the ethical issues for minors when their lives are broadcast for the world to see?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Ethically speaking, can a child\/ minor give consent to be on a public platform? Is consent looked at differently if a child has a very large platform vs. a small one, and ethically speaking, should it be? How does this compare or contrast to a child star who is on T.V and in movies? Should child actors be considered differently than children on monetized social media platforms?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. What are some ethical issues surrounding adopted and foster children (or any marginalized child) in the scope of family vlogging and what are some of the implications of having foster kids especially, on a family vlog?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. We\u2019ve talked about monetary concerns, but how are children\u2019s minds and personal development impacted\/ affected by being a part of large public platforms and how can this impact affect their mental and emotional wellbeing? Are their any studies that have connected child influencers with increased depression or suicide rates? What are the parents\/ guardian\u2019s responsibilities in the scope of protecting their children from these possible harms?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Laws are now being worked on, or put into place, by several states, to protect children who assist their family to earn money on social media platforms due to previous lack of protections related to what category being a \u201ckidfluencer\u201d fell under. \u201cProtections do not extend to kidfluencers due to there being no official \u201cemployment\u201d of children involved in social media production\u201d (Miller, 24). Laws have taken so long to be made because in large part, children on these platforms appear to be \u201cplaying\u201d or living their \u201cnormal lives\u201d while being recorded. This complex topic will lead us to evaluate privacy, consent, and the capacity for which a child or minor can or should be used by parents for monetary gain and financial support through monetized content and how this can affect authenticity and safe ethical social media practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On, The Dougherty Dozen, mom\/adoptive mom Alicia Dougherty, has built a platform by doing daily Vlogs about her large blended family as she has taken in multiple foster children, as well as having biological children. This You Tube channel exploded in 2020, gaining a massive following leading to quick monetization, but left many wondering if it was in the best interest of her children, especially the foster and adopted children in her household. Alicia Dougherty has had moments of sharing extremely personal information, including protected medical information, about her adopted, foster and biological children. The vlog has also come under fire for her insanely large \u201cshopping hauls\u201d and huge shopping trips for birthdays and holidays, where she buys huge amounts of food and gifts, in major excess, and yet continues to make this content due to those episodes getting the most views and thus making the most money. Through the lenses of social media ethics, I hope to review if these practices \u201cwrong\u201d and do they reveal if children can safely be on monetized accounts? <\/p>\n\n\n\n References<\/p>\n\n\n\n GMI Blogger. (2024, August 1). YouTube statistics 2024 (demographics, users by country & more). GMI Blogger.<\/em> https:\/\/www.globalmediainsight.com\/blog\/youtube-users-statistics\/#:~:text=Monthly%20Active%20Users%20on%20YouTube,-Monthly%20active%20users&text=YouTube%20has%20more%20than%202.70,population%2C%2052%25%20access%20YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Miller, D. R. (n.d.). YouTube family channels: The new frontier of child labor.<\/em> The Projector Journal. https:\/\/www.theprojectorjournal.com\/youtube-family-channels<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n