Natalie Monzon '24, Social Media Manager
Privacy is something we are all taught to respect and, in turn, expected to be given. Children trust their parents to protect them from outside corruption when life begins. You have a room, locks, a safe home, and a right to decide whether you want your private life out there for the world to see. For children whose families post vlog-style content on YouTube, however, they have no choice but to be exploited.
Family-styled vlogs started to gain popularity in years when YouTube was on the uprise. These vlog channels make videos that consist of their everyday lives: waking up in the morning, sports games, school, emotional moments, and even puberty. Viewers fell in love with how they could be involved in these children's lives and watch them grow up. Some notable or famous channels are Brataley, The LaBrant Fam, 8 Passengers, Ballinger Family, and The Ace Family. Most channels were seemingly normal—recently though, many have realized how truly invasive this kind of content can be.
Even though vlog channels are often considered controversial, and many who are aware of them feel that the publishers (the parents) likely have zero regard for the children involved, nothing too obviously dangerous happened until the case of Ruby Franke's family, known in the family vlog world as 8 Passengers. Franke is from Utah and filmed her six children's daily routines. Her channel started in 2015 and quickly became popular. Franke's channel started as any other mommy vlogger. It was not until 2020 that people started to realize that something was wrong.
As it always does, TikTok resurfaced some of Franke's old content. Numerous clips were posted of her strict, borderline abusive parenting style. A specific instance was when her six-year-old daughter forgot to bring her lunch to school. Franke refused to bring her one, saying directly to the camera and thus to viewers, "She's just going to be hungry." It is entirely irresponsible for a parent to leave their child without a meal, especially at such a young age.
A clip with the same intense parenting style showed how terrible Franke was. She took her son Chad's bedroom away for seven months because of a prank he pulled on his little brother. Chad stated that he had to sleep on a bean bag during that time. Franke not only filmed her children and took their privacy on a daily basis. She took their human rights away while posting it on the internet.
Most of the people who viewed Franke's resurfaced videos did not think it would end so sinisterly. In 2022, after those videos came out, she stopped vlogging and started an extreme parenting podcast with Jodi Hildebrandt called ConneXions. The two created videos that were highly toxic and dismissed a lot of issues teens and parents go through. It was like Franke had completely changed her personality from a seemingly average mommy vlogger to a drill sergeant.
Things quieted down for Franke until Aug. 30, 2023, when her 12-year-old son escaped Hildebrandt's—a friend of his mother's—house to a nearby neighbor's home, emaciated and clearly abused. Senior Anabelle Watson said, "It didn't come as a shock when I heard of her arrest because she showed so much on camera; you can only imagine what happened behind the scenes." The pair had been abusing two of Franke's children in the home. They were arrested, and both pled guilty to child abuse. They can serve up to 30 years in prison.
The disturbing truth is that things like this will continue to happen if viewers of these channels do not stop giving them support and views. YouTube also does not do much to ensure the protection of these children that are in the spotlight. Children can not give consent to cameras being shoved in their faces all day and every day. Parents who have viral or semi-viral vlogs can make copious amounts of money off of their children, most likely without the kids' knowledge.
Junior Allison Savage said, "I think this invasive content is unethical." Children forced into YouTube are a lot like child stars thrown into acting, but the difference is there is no escape. The camera does not turn off when you get home; it is a never-ending job. No laws are in place to protect them, and most will probably never touch the money their parents made from their exploitation. This kind of exposure can have many detrimental effects on the victims of these experiences. We must give them the privacy they deserve; their private lives are not for our entertainment.
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