Do your kids know what you say about them on the internet?

📸 Almost exactly 17 years ago, Laney Griner took a picture of her 11-month-old son at the beach — a photo that became the “Success Kid” meme
Issue #146: fact-checking Simone Biles’s jump height, the effects of puberty blockers on trans tweens, and dramadoodles
By Zulie @ Medium

I used to follow a fashion Instagram account for everyday outfit inspo. The account had an interesting business model: it had hundreds of thousands of followers, so up-and-coming outfit-of-the-day Instagram accounts could pay a fee to be featured in posts or stories. I had an absolute shock while scrolling one day when the account featured a five-year-old girl, modeling the same outfit styles that many grown influencers favor. The girl (or her mom, anyway) had been active on Instagram since she was two years old.

It felt obscene. This mom was making money by posting her young daughter’s #sponcon. How could the child consent? Was this not a clear violation of child labor laws? How would it affect her as she grew up to be subject to the demands of posting? But ‘kidfluencing’ — AKA using your kids to make money by posting about them on social media — is totally legal.

John Polonis, a lawyer — and dad — points out in his piece on the ethics of kidfluencing that few laws protect kids from exploitation online, and most are toothless. The strongest, recently passed in Illinois, requires kids to sue their parents if they want to recoup any of their earnings, rather than giving any upfront protections. He also highlights that he sees benefits to his social media presence even without direct kidfluencing: his YouTube thumbnails get more clicks when he includes a pic of his kids.

Maybe we should just ban all parents from posting about their kids online. But there are non-nefarious reasons to share your kids’ lives online, too. As father and writer Will Leitch writes, when he became a parent, it was hard not to post about his kids because fatherhood was so all-consuming. Plus, where do you draw the line? Many of us post pictures and videos online to share with friends and family. What if they go viral by accident? What if a brand offers you a sponsorship deal off the back of that?

It’s worth asking yourself where your line is, if only so you have a good answer when your child inevitably asks you why so many people know them as “Success Kid.”

What else we’re reading

• No, I’m not done thinking about the Olympics! I’m also not done thinking about the lifespan of a zombie stat, which I wrote about in a previous newsletter. That’s why physicist Rhett Allain’s myth-busting investigation into whether Simone Biles really gets 12 feet off the floor, as per USA Today, struck my interest. In short, not quite: She did reach around 10.9 feet, depending on whether you calculate the distance from the floor to her feet, or her head. Still amazing for someone who is 4’8”.
• Trans author and biologist Julia Serano shares how gender-affirming care has become the standard recommendation from the medical community even for prepubescent children. Over the past three decades, she explains, the “watchful waiting” model, where doctors advised against any interventions for pre-pubescent gender-dysphoric children, has been recognized as psychologically harmful. For children who are “insistent, persistent, and consistent about their gender identity,” doctors now recommend a gender affirmative model, which allows and encourages social transition.

Your daily dose of practical wisdom: use a “dramadoodle” to unblock yourself creatively

I am normally a creature of regimented to-do lists and processes, which is why I was so fascinated by voice and theater teacher Kate Brennan’s idea of creating a dramadoodle to brainstorm, unblock, or problem-solve. Start with a blank sheet of paper, draw a bunch of shapes, put your prominent problem/question in the middle shape, and fill the rest with “words, snippets of thought, images, or whatever comes to mind when you think of your essential question.”

via Kate Brennan

Quiz: Zoom In

Below is a zoomed-in version of an image related to one of the stories linked above. If you know what it is, email us: tips@medium.com. First to guess correctly will win a free Medium membership.

And the winner of yesterday’s quiz is Betty Volquardsen who correctly guessed that it was a cat falling in mid air.

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Edited and produced by Harris Sockel, Scott Lamb, & Carly Rose Gillis

Questions, feedback, or story suggestions? Email us: tips@medium.com