The first wave of social media babies whose childhoods were splashed all over the internet are now fighting back and pushing for stricter child protection laws.
Cam Barrett, 25, from Chicago, said she is still suffering after becoming a victim of ‘sharenting’ – a term combining ‘sharing’ and ‘parenting’ that refers to family vlogging and the publicization of a child’s life without their consent.
Growing up, Barrett told CNN that their mother used MySpace and Facebook to document every detail of their private life – from getting their first period to tantrums and even the fact that they were adopted.
One of the most traumatizing experiences she recounted was when she was hit by a drunk driver at 15 and ended up in the hospital.
‘She was right there taking pictures when I was strapped to the gurney and I had a neck brace on,’ Barrett told ABC News in a sit down interview. ‘I needed a hand to hold, but there was a camera put in my face instead.’
Cam Barrett says her mother shared every personal detail about their life, that led to Barrett experiencing cyberbullying
One of the most traumatizing experiences Barrett recounted was when she was hit by a drunk driver at 15 and ended up in the hospital where their mother put a camera in their face
As their mom’s posts gained traction online, Barrett, who uses the pronouns she and they, said she ended up isolated from intense cyberbullying.
She told CNN she knows the precise date of her first menstrual period because her mother posted the news on Facebook when she was in fourth grade – which she described as ‘super embarrassing’.
On another chilling occasion, she said she received a private message on Facebook while aged 12 from a man claiming he had followed them home and knew where they lived, CNN reported.
She said she often didn’t feel like she could confide in their family for fear that their most private emotions would be plastered on their mother’s Facebook walls.
Barrett, now an advocate for children’s privacy online, has testified before multiple state legislators and shared their story to push for stricter child protection laws.
The former ‘content kid’ has amassed 240,000 followers on TikTok, where she spreads the message about the dangers of family vlogging and misuse of social media by their family without the child’s consent.
She admits that their mother’s internet presence had some perks – such as front row tickets to Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift concerts from LiveNation resellers in exchange for promotional posts following the accident.
But she says their mother’s inability to see the effects of her actions and the bullying she endured took a lasting toll on her mental health that saw her drop out of school and develop a debilitating anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder.
She also said she now rarely speaks to their mother – who did not respond to requests for comment.
Pictured: Barrett with their mother, who she says overstepped in her public documentation of their life
Generation Z, born between the late ’90s and early 2010s, has never known a world without social media. Now as young adults, they’re grappling with the impact of having their childhoods documented online.
While Barrett recognizes her mother was new to technology, she feels it is important to highlight the potential harm caused by such posts.
Parents today are likely more aware of social media’s influence on children, and advocates like Barrett hope their experiences can help shed more light on the issue.
The biggest concern isn’t occasional photos, but family vloggers and influencers who exploit their children for online fame and profit on platforms like YouTube and TikTok. These creators turn their families’ lives into a constant online spectacle, exposing every detail.
Until recently, no laws protected children but things are changing.
Comedian Caroline Easom brings awareness to the issue by posting satirical takes on parents who leverage their children’s personal life for monetization on social media. She said the onset of social media changed everything for her generation.
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‘Social media happened to us so quickly and changed many of our daily habits and behaviors virtually overnight. It’s like we all started taking a new medication, with no clinical trials or studies and no information about long-term side effects,’ said told CNN. ‘And now, over a decade later, we’re just starting to realize how reckless that was.’
With more than three million followers on TikTok, Easom recognizes that social media can be a positive place where people can be themselves – but sometimes, at a cost.
‘One of the biggest lessons we are learning from people who were overshared as children is that social media is not the place to let your guard down, as a viewer or as a creator. Social media is not a safe space,’ said Easom.
‘These platforms invite and reward your vulnerability and authenticity, but that authenticity has lasting consequences, especially when it comes to children. The cost of posting your child for your own validation and attention might be their trust, or worse, their safety.’
Others young advocates are taking a social justice approach to raise awareness.
Chris McCarty, 19, a sophomore at the University of Washington, created Quit Clicking Kids, an advocacy and education site used to combat the monetization of minors on social media and bring awareness to legislation in the process of being passed to protect victims of ‘sharenting.’
They told CNN the difference between child actors and ‘content kids’ is that the actors get to leave set and go home, leaving their work behind.
Caroline Easom, a comedian who known her sketches, brings awareness to the issue by posting satirical takes on parents who leverage their children’s personal life for monetization on social media. She said the onset of social media changed everything for her generation
Chris McCarty created Quit Clicking Kids, an advocacy and education site used to combat the monetization of minors on social media and bringing awareness to legislation in the process of being passed to protect victims of ‘sharenting’
‘I have spoken with some… child actors, and one of the things that really stood out is that when they were filming as child actors, there was a very clear distinction between when they were on and when they were off camera,’ they said.
‘When they were home at the end of the day, they knew they didn’t have to perform anymore. But this new generation of children, there’s no home to go to at the end of the day where they can disconnect, because the camera is inside the house. It’s like living in a movie set all day, every day.’
Unlike ‘content kids,’ child actors’ paychecks are also protected.
Under the Coogan Law, proof of a separate trust account where 15 percent of the minor’s gross wages are withheld is to be provided before receiving a work permit.
Currently, ‘Coogan accounts’ are required by California, New York, Illinois, Louisiana and New Mexico.
But what about similar accounts for ‘content kids’?
Recently, Illinois, passed a law requiring parents to compensate their influencer children.
By amending child labor laws, the law mandates a portion of earnings from content featuring minors be placed in a trust fund accessible when they turn 18.