We often bypass the algorithm, on a base level we recognise it as an instrument that recommends content like funny videos, dances, and vlogs. But beneath the surface lies something much darker: the exploitation of children, packaged as entertainment and rewarded by systems designed for clicks. Not for the consumer or the composer’s best interests.
Take Myka Stauffer, a popular “momfluencer” who adopted a 2 year old from China, Huxley. Her audience saw everything: his first day home, his traumatic adoption story, even tantrums and potty training difficulties. Nothing was off-limits. Brands sponsored. Millions watched. But when Huxley’s needs became “too complex,” he was quietly “rehomed” like an unwanted pet. No apology could erase the fact that his trauma was monetized and that the algorithm not only permitted it but rewarded it.

Then there’s Danielle Cohn, who began uploading to Musical.ly at 11, while her mother claimed she was 13. Danielle was styled, sexualized, and pushed into influencer fame. Predators watched. Brands profited. But the algorithm didn’t care, it just saw numbers climbing.

Or look at Piper Rockelle, a YouTube star since the age of 9. Her videos filled with crop tops, boyfriend pranks, and provocative thumbnails were created by her mother and her mother’s boyfriend. Tiffany is now at the centre of an $85 million lawsuit, with other children alleging they were coached to act inappropriately for views. One boy even shared that Tiffany Rockelle kissed him while intoxicated during a livestream; the footage was deleted hours later.

Let’s be clear: this is not parenting gone wrong, knowing what we know now not a single parent can say “We had no idea!”

This is digital child labor. Children are raised in front of ring lights, performing for strangers. Their “normal” is filming TikTox instead of attending school. Former family vlogger Shari Franke wrote, “I would never tell my mom when I was sick, because I knew she would just pull out her camera.”

Doesn’t this sadden you?

Their most vulnerable moments are not protected; they’re edited, uploaded, and turned into clickbait: catchy titles like “Our Daughter Has a Secret” or “She Told Us She Was Pregnant” used to lure viewers. Their trauma becomes content.

According to a 2023 Thorn report, 1 in 7 children are sexually solicited online. A Wall Street Journal investigation found that TikTok began recommending sexualized content of minors within 36 minutes based on simple engagement. Platforms like YouTube and TikTok claim to protect minors, but their systems continue to promote and monetize this content because it performs better than almost any other content on there.

What can we do?

We must push for legislation to protect child influencers as we do child actors recognising that social media IS work and limiting hours, safeguarding earnings, and ensuring informed consent. Platforms must stop promoting exploitative content, no matter how clickable it is.

And most of all, we need to take responsibility as viewers. Every like, every comment, every share teaches the algorithm what we value.

Because the algorithm doesn’t have ethics.

But we do.

And if we don’t act?
We’re not just complicit.
We’re the fuel.

Don’t add to the fire that flips children’s lives upside down.