How Online Influencers are Influencing Kids

As parents, we want to do everything we can to protect our children. Even if you’re teaching your children about things like stranger danger and engaging in safe and appropriate online interactions or limiting social media access, it’s practically impossible to escape the reach of influencer culture. 

From misinformation to mental health risks to unhealthy lifestyle choices, taking steps to protect kids from the dark side of influencer culture begins with understanding it. In this post, Oklahoma personal injury attorney Tim Gilpin examines what adults can do to keep kids safe in the age of the influencer. 

The Age of the Influencer

Unlike the world of yesterday, where Saturday morning and after-school cartoons were the cornerstone of youth programming, today’s kids are consuming most of their media through websites like YouTube and TikTok. According to Pew Research, 81 percent of parents of kids 11 and under allow their children to watch videos on YouTube, with 34 percent allowing their kids to watch regularly. 

By the time they’re teens, most youth are consuming hours of online content each day, with more than half of teenagers spending at least four hours per day on social media via sites like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, Gallup reported. For girls, this number is even higher, with teenage girls reporting an average of five hours per day spent on social media. 

Central to much of this content are influencers— online personas behind social media and streaming video content that often generate fandoms or in some cases, cult-like followings. From toy unboxing influencers to gamers to beauty bloggers, there’s an influencer for every interest. In a world where many young people feel increasingly isolated, influencers who share audience members’ interests can make kids and teens feel seen while creating a sense of connection among members of a fandom community. Even if you’re limiting your kids’ access to social media and influencer culture, it’s so ubiquitous that most teen trends today are in some way connected to online content. 

Here are a few fast facts about the way influencer culture intersects with kids’ lives:

• 70 percent of teens hide their online behavior from parents
• Many teens will use “ghost apps” and VPS to get around parents’ rules
• 95 percent of teens have their own smartphones
• Boys are more likely to use Twitch, Reddit, and YouTube
• Girls are more likely to use Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok
• Less than 1 percent of parents use social media tools to monitor kids’ online activities

How Influencers are Influencing Kids

It doesn’t take a cognitive scientist to observe that childhood and the teenage years are the time when people are forming their identities. But from a scientific standpoint, the impact of social interactions on an individual’s sense of self during their teen years has been well-documented. 

That’s not to say that it’s all bad. There are plenty of influencers that have a positive influence on young audiences by creating a safe space for them to explore their interests, encouraging body positivity, or even opening kids up to new information or skills. But like everything else, there’s also a flip side. 

Influencers, Mental Health, and Substance Use

Many influencers work hard to curate a certain image — which makes sense, since for many content creators, creating an image that viewers love is big business. But what teens are viewing can affect their sense of self and overall mental health. While one study found that increased social media use in and of itself was not linked to lower self-esteem, teens who viewed images of idealized body types did experience a negative effect on their sense of self-worth. 

Additionally, research has shown that teens who perceive behavior as “normal” online are more likely to behave in this behavior — a particular problem since to date, there is very little enforcement of rules put in place to limit marketing of things like alcohol, nicotine, and other substances to minors. And the problem is not limited to influencers actively marketing these products to their audiences. Simply by sharing lifestyle content, many influencers are normalizing certain behaviors to their audiences. 

A trending example of this effect is the rise of the so-called “Zynfluencer” — influencers who promote, whether intentionally or otherwise, a modern-day version of snuff called Zyn. Since its arrival on the market, the product has become something of a cultural flashpoint, particularly given its appeal to younger users who find it easy to conceal from the adults in their lives. 

And that’s just one of the many ways influencers can create real-world risks for children and teens. Here are a few more:

• Many influencers promote unhealthy eating habits and junk food.
• Health-related pseudoscience is widespread on social media and YouTube.
• There’s a TikTok subculture promoting illegal bodybuilding drugs.
• Psychedelic drugs like magic mushrooms are also highly unregulated on social media.
• Many other unregulated and untested healthcare products are also for sale.
• Communities and influencers promoting eating disorders use coded language and closed platforms like Snapchat and Discord. 
• Harassment and bullying are also common, particularly among some gamer communities. 
• Self-radicalization and terrorist-leaning speech is also on the rise among teens in certain online communities. 

Protecting Your Children and Teenagers  

The key to keeping kids safe in the age of social media begins and ends with communication. Here are a few suggestions for engaging with your kids, tuning into what they’re into, and starting a discourse that encourages safe and judicious online interactions:

1. Know what your kids are into.

Make a habit of connecting with your kids and listening to them talk about their interests in an open-hearted and nonjudgmental way. Find out what their interests are — most kids love the opportunity to share what they love with their parents. 

2. Talk about digital safety and literacy.

One of the best ways to protect kids and teens is to arm them with knowledge. Have honest and direct conversations about the way influencers present information and how to research and fact check anything they learn online. 

3. Follow their interests.

Find out what influencers and subcultures your kids are following so you can check in on their content from time to time. This is also a good way to keep apprised of any controversies that arise with influencers your kids are following. It also gives you more to talk about with your kids!

4. Create a safe and open line of communication. 

Make sure your kids can feel comfortable coming to you with any questions or concerns they have as they navigate the digital world. Most of all, encourage critical thinking and dialogue. 

Call Tim Gilpin for Personal Injury Advice

As influencer culture and the internet evolve, it can be hard to know how the legislation protects your family from bad actors. If negligence from an influencer or website caused someone you love to be injured, give Tim a call to get local expert legal help from a lawyer with decades of experience along with a free consultation. And remember: no recovery means no attorney fee.