What if the photos and videos you lovingly share of your children online are entering a world you never imagined… and can't fully see?
Kate Mason sits down with Crystal Abidin; Malay-Australian professor of internet studies at Curtin University, anthropologist, and mother, to explore one of the most pressing and least understood challenges facing modern families.
Crystal's new book, Child Influencers: How Children Become Entangled with Social Media Fame, pulls back the curtain on the world of child influencers, from the mummy-blogging origins of the 1990s to the AI-doctored dangers of today.
Whether you've casually shared a birthday photo or are raising a child who dreams of going viral, this conversation offers vital insight, a global perspective, and the practical understanding every parent urgently needs.
Listen for:
4:50 Where did child influencers actually come from and how did it all begin?
9:27 How do East Asian countries approach children and social media so differently to Australia?
12:35 What is "sharenting" and how does everyday family sharing become a risk?
15:47 What gaps in the law leave child influencers unprotected when filming at home?
29:02 What is Crystal's most important advice for parents sharing their children online?
Guest: Crystal Abidin, Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin University; Anthropologist and Ethnographer of Internet Cultures
Website | Publication | Instagram | Child Influencers
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