Argument Map by Lia Frank

Overarching question: Should children influencers be involved in social media commerce?

lfrank24_1 — 2024-03-04 20:02:46 UTC

My argument/answer to that question: No! Children should not directly be involved in social media commerce.

Subclaim/Calibrated Amateurism

lfrank24_1 — 2024-03-04 20:15:13 UTC

This term is used to describe a type of content. It's the act of an influencer portraying the role of an amateur in a certain field, capturing the audience with the charm of a beginner. This media gets traction because it pulls on the heartstrings of its audience. It makes them want to help, give advice, and follow progress of growth.

Subclaim/ Effects of Influencer Culture

lfrank24_1 — 2024-03-04 20:19:42 UTC

An influencer is not just a person who creates content, but also dictates trends and shapes behavior. What viewers see online is not just entertainment but a subconscious societal guideline of how to behave or think.

Key component- Influencer culture

lfrank24_1 — 2024-03-04 20:22:54 UTC

The growth of child content creation means there are more videos out there. The more videos there are, the more competitive it gets to become a popular internet face. Ideas stretch out and may become more extreme for views (we see this with ultrasounds or hashtags.... quote is connected).

Also, with children having more access to social media it shapes how they think. Children naturally mock the way adults act, and if they're constantly exposed to social media, they may think it is right to behave, look, or be a certain way.

Quotes for Influencer culture

lfrank24_1 — 2024-03-04 20:25:51 UTC

"In these surprise birth announcements, the celebrity of the would-be child began as viral sonograms of fetuses..."(Abidin 6)

"...it was becoming a norm for influencer mums (and their followers) to brainstorm combinations of first and middle names for their children with the aim of curating a unique hastag that tracks their pregnancy, and later on, the life of their children on social media" (Abidin 6)

Realities of Parenting/Key Component

lfrank24_1 — 2024-03-04 21:48:52 UTC

Since the kids have no concept of content creation, every responsibility of planning, editing, scheduling falls on the parents. The stress of constantly having to create content from the parent falls onto the child as well, as the parent may force a child to create content(quote connected) "Harsh conditions/negligence to uncomfortable children" and "Forced Attendance". Some parents have a healthy balance of content creation and privacy, but some don't. Some use content creation as a punishment for their kids.

Quote for realities....

lfrank24_1 — 2024-03-04 21:52:49 UTC

"One such example in my research was a ticketed event in commemoration of a child influencer's 1st birthday, which saw long lines of adults in the queue for a photo opportunity with the toddler in a shopping mall. The child was strapped into a baby highchair, positioned in between their influencer mum and a rotating crowd of adult fans..." (Abidin 6)

"The vlog recording the day's events revealed brief snippets of the toddler;s hesitance, with their torso often leaning away from the crowd of strangers, and arms reaching towards their mum to seek assurance." (Abidin 6)

Realities of Parenting/Subclaim

lfrank24_1 — 2024-03-05 02:07:55 UTC

Creating content can become an addiction to some people as they can get hooked on the attention and engagement from their videos/posts. This addiction is a slippery slope for parents especially, as their content actively shapes how their children will grow up.

"visibility labor is the act of gaining consistent visibility on your content and creating a specifically curated audience"- Me (mind map)

Calibrated Amateurism/Key component

lfrank24_1 — 2024-03-05 02:15:21 UTC

This is a paradox, inauthentic authenticity is so backwards. The reason that this type of content even exists is because true authentic family content was getting too much backlash because the fans sensed the children's uncomfortable tendencies. This type of content hides the the true reactions of children (uncomfortable body language, crying, etc), and shows "bloopers" to enhance the authentic experience. In reality, these "bloopers" and "behind-the-scenes" videos are all curated specifically to be perceived a certain way.

Quotes/Calibrated Amateurism

lfrank24_1 — 2024-03-05 02:17:37 UTC

“...where the influencers work hard to produce a contrived form of authenticity, by deploying the aesthetic of an amateur…” (Abidin 6)

This aesthetic is so appealing because we as humans cant get enough of happy-go-lucky growth stories.

lfrank24_1 — 2024-03-05 02:19:55 UTC

lfrank24_1 — 2024-03-05 02:22:41 UTC

lfrank24_1 — 2024-03-05 02:25:19 UTC