By Samarth Jani
Famous families have been a staple in pop culture for centuries, but recently, the concept
has grown into an unprecedented phenomenon. From being on hit reality shows like “Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' or gaining millions of followers on social media like the Ace Family, celebrities’ personal lives have attracted the interest of their fans. Specifically, people seem to be increasingly invested in how children go about their lives in the spotlight.
Over the past two decades, the Kardashians have grown to become one of the most famous
families in the world. Whether it be social media, paparazzi or their own reality show, they are always in the public eye. It does not come as a surprise that when a new Kardashian child is introduced to the world, millions of eyes are watching to see what the next generation of reality royalty is up to. The recent opening of Kourtney and Kim’s daughters', Penelope and North, TikTok accounts sent the app into a frenzy. With over 15.8 million followers combined, the question is posed of whether it is safe for these young kids to be exposed to the harsh world of social media, especially considering their bolstered familial fame.
“I actually think it’s really dangerous,” senior Mohammed Adam said. “While it seems
fitting to follow in their footsteps, there’s a reason there are guidelines and age requirements for many social media apps. …It’s important to recognize that it’s the children’s happiness that should be prioritized, and exposing them at such a young age to these flawed social media algorithms and platforms is unhealthy and wrong. It opens up too much online bullying and unnecessary troubles.”
“Considering the fact that these children have been in the spotlight, I don’t think it is that
shocking that North and Penelope are on social media,” senior Abigail Varghese said.
Source by Guneet Hanjra
Constantly under the spotlight and targeted by paparazzi, kids such as the Kardashians are among this generation's greatest interests.
Kim and Kourtney Kardashian have both faced backlash regarding the creation of their
daughter’s social media profiles, as many are questioning their parental judgment when it came to making this decision. Some measures seem to have been taken by the girls' mothers to protect their impressionable kids from potential hate and backlash by turning off comments and duets. In addition, their accounts are also heavily monitored by their moms regarding what they are allowed to post and show to the public on social media. If you look at what they post, it is similar to a majority of the content one would normally see on TikTok, such as “Get Ready With Me" videos, dances and lip-syncing videos with their family and friends. Despite this trend-following, many have been quick to point out how much the Kardashians’ businesses are promoted in these videos, as some TikToks being dedicated to showing off Kim Kardashian’s skincare line SKKN by Kim and Kylie Jenner’s makeup line Kylie Cosmetics. Many have begun to believe that the only reason why these accounts were started in the first place was for profit and to exploit the Kardashian kids’ fame to push Kardashian products.
“I personally don’t see a problem because it’s still benefiting them in the long run because they are still going to make millions of dollars from it, which will help the kids,” seventh grader Dhruv Jani said.
The same argument can be applied to families whose income comes from showing their
lives on social media. The concept of the YouTube family channel has grown immensely over the past few years. These types of channels have proved to be extremely successful, gaining millions of viewers and subscribers and allowing these families to make millions a year. Many family channels have been at the center of controversies surrounding whether it is ethical to put these kids online possibly during their most vulnerable moments or for monetary gain, exposing them to millions of people. As the potential for danger looms overhead, putting children in the spotlight will continue to beg the question: is it safe and ethical for the kids involved?