I was going to post that NYT article. It’s very, very disturbing.
When I was in college and thinking about careers, my very insightful aunt told me about the concept of “golden handcuffs,” where you take a job that’s not exactly what you want to do (and might even bump up a little against your value system) because it pays really well, and then once you get used to being paid really well, you can’t possibly walk away, even if it turns out to REALLY be inconsistent with your goals/values.
I think that’s a big part of what’s happening here, only the parents aren’t just handcuffing themselves–they’re handcuffing their kids, too.
The influencer thing is very similar to the stage mom thing. Most parents justify it by saying that they’re simply helping the kids do what the kids want to do (there’s plenty of that in the NYT article). And that’s usually at least half true (kids these days WANT to be Instagram and Youtube stars, just like prior generations wanted to be movie and rock stars). But for those who actually achieve some success, it becomes really hard for the parents to stop, even when it becomes apparent that they’re hurting their kids. Cf Heather Armstrong (RIP).
That said, there’s no excuse for the parents who purposely pose their tweens and young teens in bikinis and sell instagram subscriptions to old dudes. That’s just child abuse.
