When Does Child Content Turn into Exploitation?
The prevalence of humorous content featuring children on social media frequently attracts significant attention from netizens. However, such content is showing indications of forms of exploitation that parents may not even realise are occurring.
Content uploaded in this manner indirectly shares information, photos, videos, or stories about children, a practice known as ‘sharenting’. Behind the narrative of preserving memories and sharing stories of a child’s development, there lies an underlying objective to produce content with economic value.
This phenomenon has been studied by five students from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) as part of the Teman Tumbuh team under the Student Creativity Programme in Humanities Research (PKM-RSH). The team leader, Phedra Annabelle, stated that the development of digital platforms has given content involving children significant economic value. According to her, children can become part of a content strategy designed to generate profit through various monetisation mechanisms.
Phedra noted that social media platforms are no longer just places to share videos. Through engagement, brand collaborations, affiliate programmes, and various other forms of monetisation, a single video can possess substantial economic value.
“In this situation, the child is no longer merely a figure appearing in a video. The child can transform into part of a content strategy, even becoming a digital asset that helps generate profit,” Phedra said in a written statement, reported on Wednesday (30/09/2026).
The research team revealed three primary roles children play in these practices of ‘hidden exploitation’. First, the child acts as a user or consumer of a product, for example, by using or interacting directly with a displayed item.
Second, the child serves as a child actor following a specific plot or script within the content. Third, the child acts as a testimonial provider, where their experiences, words, or reactions are used to demonstrate that a product is worthy of being used or purchased.
Phedra emphasised that while parents play a vital role in upbringing and decision-making, children also possess a right to their own privacy. Furthermore, technology is making these boundaries increasingly complex.
Photos and videos originally intended only for family sharing and entertainment can spread widely, reaching millions of viewers. Information that appears simple today can become part of a child’s digital footprint for many years to come.
“For us, the issue is not about banning parents from sharing moments with their children, but about ensuring that the rights and privacy of the child are still respected in the process,” said Phedra.