Meet the children

Adam

Adam is an 8 year old boy whose social media profile focuses on his talent and interest in football. He lives with his parents, who both contribute to his account management. His Dad records him at football practice and at matches, while his Mum manages brand content and marketing enquiries.

Adam struggles at school and is being assessed for ADHD, with his parents starting to show his "journey" through the assessment system on his account. In his free time he likes to play video games with his friends. His Dad has started to stream some of his video game playing as additional content, but this is causing conflict with Adam.

You can find out more about Adam in the financial, education, health and safety, identity, and dignity sections.

Bea

Bea is a 4 year old girl whose social media profile was originally started by her parents to chart her journey through toddlerhood and share their parenting techniques. Both her parents manage her account, but her Mum takes on the bulk of the recording and editing.

Although Bea is now past the toddler phase, her profile is still focused on her acting in more juvenile ways. Hashtags relating to "terrible twos" or her being a "naughty girl" are frequently used, and the older content of her in nappies and potty training is still up on her profile. Bea's parents are receiving more lucrative offers for content of her, but some of the requirements are detailed and Bea is a little too young to be following specific directions, making recording difficult and stressful for both her and her Mum.

You can find out more about Bea in the financial, health and safety, family, and dignity sections.

Flick

Flick is a 7 year old girl whose profile focuses on her talent for gymnastics, with her content showing her practicing in a training area built at her parents home, as well as taking part in national and international competitions. She lives with her parents, who have highly paid jobs that let them spend money on equipment and trips to nurture her talent. She has also received sponsorship offers from gymnastics brands.

As the account's audience has grown the number of unpleasant comments and messages has increased, and although her parents are shielding her from this side of social media, Flick is starting to receive negative attention at school. Her maternal grandmother is also unhappy about her social media activity and has banned content being filmed at her home, but this has caused conflict in the family and Flick is unhappy that she is spending less time with her.

You can find out more about Flick in the health and safety, identity, family, and dignity sections.

Demi and Denise

Demi and Denise are 2 year old identical twin girls. Their parents have split and their social media account is run solely by their Mum, Erin. Their Dad is against the girls having any social media profile and is considering applying for sole custody.

Although the girls are identical twins, the account often focuses on their differences. Their Mum frequently dresses them up or uses filters to highlight them as opposites, particularly showing Demi as a "devil" and Denise as an "angel", with minimal swapping between these roles. Erin also occasionally does "prank" videos with the girls, with Demi frequently coming out as the "loser".

You can find out more about Demi and Denise in the financial, family and dignity sections.

Cole

Cole is a 7 year old boy whose account focuses on his talent in singing and dancing. He lives with his parents but his account is run by his Mum, who started the account when he was a baby in order to chart her own parenting journey. Much of the content from Cole's early years, including reels and posts discussing difficulties with potty training and bed wetting, are still online on the account. Cole attends an all-boys school, and this older content has led to him being bullied by his classmates.

Cole's social media account has come to the attention of a children's entertainment company who have offered Cole a contract which will unlock audition and training opportunities, but which has strict clauses about his appearance and behaviour online and offline. His parents are thinking of home schooling Cole as this will remove the bullying issue, give him more time to practice his talents, and allow his Mum to take him to auditions without risking school attendance fines.

Where you can find out more about Cole in the education, identity, dignity, family, and financial sections.

Edi

Edi is 4 years old and lives with her parents and three older sisters. The social media account focuses on the family and health spheres and depicts the girls cooking with their parents, doing fitness activities in the house and garden, and going on family outings and holidays. The girls are often shown in identical clothing and hairstyles. The account is run by Edi's parents and generates enough income that they have both left their previous jobs to work as fulltime influencers.

Edi's eldest sister, Leila, is twelve years old and is beginning to resent the intrusion of social media in her life. Their parents often have to bribe her with treats and rewards for taking part in planned content. The three younger girls do not understand why she no longer wants to join in with the fun, and are unhappy that she is rewarded for being difficult. Their parents often discuss content successes and failures at family mealtimes, and the girls have seen comments on posts discussing their appearance and behaviour. Edi is now starting to complain that she is fat and has started trying to cut back on food so she can lose weight.

You can follow more of Edi's story in the family, identity, education, dignity, and health and safety sections.

Artist credit for images: Sophie Maliphant at Wild Creativity.

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