TV Review: Freeform's "Born to be Viral: The Real Lives of Kidfluencers" Exposes the Realities of Children on Social Media While, Inadvertently, Continuing to Exploit Them
Social Media has taken over the world, replacing many forms of traditional media consumption and advertisements and influencers finding celebrity power the size of Hollywood’s biggest actors. Freeform and Hulu’s latest series is ready to take you behind the scenes of the internet's most famous children in Born to be Viral: The Real Lives of Kidfluencers.
While fame used to be primarily found through Hollywood, Broadway, and Politics, with social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, everyone has the tools to gain a social media following. When YouTube first debuted back in 2005, vlogging took the world by storm, with the general population eating up the free and down to earth content created by people around the world. Thus, the influencer was born. Using the power of parasocial relationships, brands quickly realized these real people were an authentic way to push products and these “average Joes" transitioned into millionaires.
In today’s world, kids are exposed to social media at a young age, creating a longtime debate of whether internet culture and a growing shift towards tech based entertainment is healthy for the development of children. To an even greater extent, many families have documented their lives or even allowed their children to build their own platforms online. With an industry that has so much lucrative potential, Freeform is ready to invite viewers into the real world of families and kid influencers in Born to be Viral: The Real Lives of Kidfluencers.
Shot over 5 years, the series takes viewers into the lives of family vloggers Madison and Kyler Fisher, Forbes top influencers Ava and Alexis McClure and their parents, upcoming kid influencer Ethan Rodriguez, superstar kid influencer Nastya and more as they navigate the realities of pursuing a career in social media and the long term effects of the career. Through the struggles of an ever changing industry, audiences will be invited into the challenges of maintaining income and fame or even building a following in an over-saturated market while exploring the morality of showcasing your children on the internet.
Having the chance to check out the series’ first season early, I found myself really struggling to accept many of the reasons parents have, to put it bluntly, monetized their children. Watching film crews capture the behind the scenes of content creation, there is something almost nauseating about a parent shoving a camera in their child’s face and farming for moments to make viral content. The Fisher Family, or the Fishfam as they call themselves, shared their financial struggles before finding online fame. The balance of providing your children a comfortable life full of opportunities versus the allure of living a luxurious lifestyle is clearly at play, but, in a lot of ways, it comes across as selfish. A prime example of this is the McClure family throwing a birthday party for their son, only inviting fans of the channel and not friends or family. In some ways, the series almost feels like it's doing the same thing. While it’s clearly intended to be an informative look at the realities today’s kids live in, by continuing the cycle of putting these children on camera, it also feels like Freeform has, inadvertently, monetized these kids. The debate surrounding children being exposed to social media is a pertinent and necessary conversation, I’m just not sure that Born to be Viral was able to raise questions without crossing boundaries. Maybe another viewer will walk away from the 6-episode series feeling differently than me. But, I can’t help but feel even more for these children who are having their youth commodified for the sake of a paycheck.
To give the series some credit, it does take a mostly neutral stand, allowing audiences to form their own opinions surrounding children in entertainment. According to the series, 1 in 3 children now want to be influencers when they grow up. Ethan Rodriguez in particular clearly enjoys creating content, spearheading his vision to become an online fitness trainer. But the real question is would these parents showcase their children online if the potential of abundance wasn’t involved? It’s hard to tell. All in all, I walked away from Born to be Viral feeling grateful I don’t have to grow up in a household or a world that places so much pressure on documenting and monetizing everyday experiences.
Born to be Viral: The Real Lives of Kidfluencers’ first two episodes premiere on Freeform on June 23rd, the third and fourth episodes on June 30th, and the last two episodes on July 7th. All episodes will be on Hulu starting July 8th.
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