I welcome you to my blog and another wonderful edition of the Hive Learners' featured post. There are many things happening in our world today that come with both an advantage to those involved and a disadvantage to them as well, and using kids as influencers or for content creation is one of those things that comes with both merits and demerits, more like a double-edged sword, and both sides can cut; it can be either the side of the merits that cuts or that of demerits.
There is this Ghanian single dad that uses his daughter to create social media content. The account is so big and well-known, and I believe people love the account because of the little girl and how he takes care of her as a man and single-handedly. The way he styles her hair, if you are not told that it was done by a man, you will never ever think it was done by a man, but he does it and videos himself doing that. As much as that is good, because going through the comments section, you will see people making promises on how they would help the little girl when she comes of age.
As much as the account is a big account, we do not know who is who among all the followers and also people that will come across that video. Sometimes he makes the mistake of sharing too many details about the little girl, videos her in her school uniform, and shows and displays her school name. He once did a voice-over video where he disclosed when she leaves for school and when she comes back, which is also giving too much, and those who want to harm or use that information wrongly already have enough information at hand and can use it to strike. They know her school and know when she goes to school and when her school dismisses, which is more than enough information than they actually need to carry out any kidnapping or abducting operation.
Social media kid influencers can gain access to places other kids their age cannot gain access to; they get more opportunities than other kids. They are like steps ahead of their mates and peers, which is a good thing. A typical example is Emmanuella and Success from Mark Angel Comedy; they were exposed to it as kids, and now as teenagers, they don't have to struggle or stress to announce themselves, as the fame they had as kids does that for them, and they don't have to do it themselves. So kid influencing opens doors of opportunities for kids whose parents or guardians allow them to be involved in it.
I like the idea of kid influence, but adults, parents, and guardians of the kids should not give out too much information as well as give the kid some privacy and not put all of their lives out there because these kids will definitely grow up and have friends and all of that; the type of content of the child you put out there can turn them into a target of mockery and laughter. Parents and guardians should know what to put out there, and I also do not see kids influencing parents' exploiting their kids; rather, I see it as parents putting their kids out there for the world to see and offering them the opportunities they need to grow.
