Have you ever wondered what kidfleuencers' lives are really like behind the cameras? Well, there have been multiple cases of kidfluencers' homes being unsafe. Here's a breakdown of one of the kidfluencer cases and why kidfleuncing can be so dangerous. -- Violet Regilio, 7th Grade
Many parents have realized that they can make money from posting their kids' lives online, but how does this affect the kids' lives? These kids not only suffer from missing out in school, having to work a lot, but also from how they are actually being treated by their parents, the ones making money off them, and what kind of content they’re posting is dangerous.
Dangerous Content
For the sake of content, many parents put their children in scenarios that may be inappropriate. “Many are becoming aware that there is a massive problem with how these videos are produced,” explained Cece Burger and Amara Deanes in their 2024 OSA article.
“The parents of these channels often go out of their way to embarrass their kids, putting personal and sensitive information on display,” the article continues. Parents will post conversations usually parents and kids have in private online, exposing the kid and their privacy to everyone to see, which a lot of people find disgusting.
Wesleigh Stone, a Literary Arts 7th grade student, expresses that she finds this inappropriate. “I think that these parents will post anything on YouTube… I think that some kids wouldn’t want their private life to be all over social media,” she believes that “kidfluencing” is wrong if the child is uncomfortable with it.
Because these children's lives are all over social media for everyone to see, that means even bad people could be looking at them in ways they shouldn’t, such as predators. This makes it very unsafe for their private lives to be online.
Unsafe Home Life: Tiffany Smith
There have been quite a few cases of abuse in homes of kidfluencers, such as a case with a popular youtube group “The Squad.”
In January 2022, a YouTube group called “The Squad” filed a lawsuit against one of the nine members of the squad, Piper Rockelle’s mother, Tiffany Smith.. Although Rockelle herself denied the claims of her mother being an abuser, the squad members still went through with their lawsuit, asking for around 22 million for Tiffany's toxic and abusive management.
Smith was accused of exploiting the squad members through emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. A People article wrote that in an interview with Corinne Joy, an ex-member of The Squad, described her experience with Smith as definitely not the wholesome content she posted on YouTube. “Joy left "The Squad" in 2019 after she allegedly witnessed inappropriate behavior, but claimed she was sexually harassed by Smith. In the lawsuit, Joy alleged that Rockelle’s mom suggested she perform inappropriate acts on Hill (Joy was 11 at the time) and witnessed Smith mail “several of Piper’s soiled training bras and panties to an unknown individual.” Smith denied the claims.
A Netflix article written on the situation tells us more about the experience with Smith. “Then, whether on or off-camera, a number of the minors working with Tiffany say that they experienced discomfort when she spoke to them about sexual subject matter — and, at times, touched them inappropriately. When parents spoke up about their issues with Tiffany, they say she would swiftly retaliate against those who complained, ousting them from The Squad completely and directing other members to stop interacting with them.”
In October 2024, the lawsuit was settled for $1.85 million.
Where Has All This Left Piper Rockelle Now?
Rockelle has shown that she still has a tight bond with her mother, even after all the allegations of Smith being inappropriate with the squad and other claims against her. An article by People talks about Rockelle's interview with The Rolling Stone, where Piper finally talked about all the allegations about her mom.
“Rockelle told Rolling Stone that her relationship with her mother remains strong, and the 17-year-old alleged that her former ‘Squad’ members were ‘stretching the truth’ with their claims…” People states. “They’re not making it up, but they’re extending the truth,” Rockelle said in the interview published inMay. “I was there. I witnessed it every day ... I think that they believe what they are saying, but I was there and I saw everything.”
When asked if she thinks Smith would ever say sexually suggestive things in the first place, Rockelle said, “I don’t really think I should answer that yet ... I think I should wait until I’m old enough to speak about it…. And I’m not trying to discredit any of the victims, but we all knew how to cry on command,” Rockelle stated in the interview.
Rockelle still lives with Smith, and all her videos are managed by Smith and her boyfriend, Hunter Hill, who films and edits her videos, too.
Amara Deanes, a 8th Grade Literary Arts student, expresses her feelings about Rockelle still living with her mom. “I think that the fact that Piper is still living with her abuser (her mom) is scary. I think that abusive parents often trick their children into staying with them since they are their parents. Parents are everything that children know for their whole lives. Generally, unless someone makes her leave, I doubt she will until she's an adult.”
In conclusion, kidfluencing can look like the child is having a lot of fun on screen, but off-screen, there are things that no kid should have to go through. In reality this is definitely not the first or the last scandal like this to happen and we all need to be aware of stories like Rockelles and know what’s really going on.
