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Technology · February 5, 2020

How to Protect your Children from Influencers?

Will you mingle your kids with social media? Protect your children from influencers using parental control app. From the Greatest Generation to Gen Y, Z and I, methods and tools of communication have drastically transformed. Kids are growing in the era of smartphones over the rotary telephone. The pace at which technology is changing is putting children in a vulnerable situation. There are a few questionable practices that come along with the use of the internet that parents need to realize and discuss with kids. When 95% of children between 13-17 years of age having access to internet-enabled smartphones, and half of them are declaring as constant users, teen’s attraction as influencers ought to raise. Let us take a sneak peek into parents’ guide regarding Influencers.

Who Are ’Influencers’ And What Are Their Roles?

Influencers are any of the young or old individuals who have developed their fame on social media portals. The rise of online communication platforms has helped kids increase their outreach to a global audience, notably referred to as influencer marketing. Advertisers seek individuals with strong social media footprint and thousands of followers. Parents of teens with extraordinary looks, charismatic personalities or special talents post videos on Instagram or YouTube. And establish a number of followers for their kids to approach marketers for endorsement and product placement for casting the little ones in uncountable advertisements. Although, this concept is for-profit for both kid’s family and the company, yet parents seek the upsurge in their teen’s social media followers list (for fame).  Influencers’ content is framed as testimonial advertising. It targets adult buyers with Kidsfleuncers because a child’s appearance attracts the audience to make the product sellable. The selling is represented in the form of mischievous acts, family scenes, or cute drama. The influencers’ task is to bring a product in front of people, share it in a newsfeed and then deliver it at the buyer’s doorstep.

Influencer’s Role:

They blend their life with the service or product they sell and present it in such a way that the prospect feels incomplete without the product. Influencer’s role is of cheerleader, recruiter, and seller. Kidfluencers are trained in a way that they are masters at mingling real life with product placement.

Parents Lookout:

Online influencers are the common people who invite the audience ( as best friends or a family member) to share personal details about their lives and add them in their marketing and promotional campaigns. As parents, you should be aware and take precautionary steps before mixing children with internet communication sites. Read the following points carefully :

  • Bifurcate the real v/s virtual lives:

Children are unable (not mature enough) to differentiate whether the products they sell on-screen are real because they are paid for such commercial content and they consider monetary aspect only. They view the images and identify the product but fail to understand that a company promotes the product for a ‘sale.’ Thus, it makes kids understand the difference between the virtual and the real.

  • Avoid using ad-based content:

YouTube Kids App, which is designed for children under the age of 12, should prohibit the sponsored content. But, the leading newspaper corporation, The New York Times found that app filters permit ad content from major organizations to slip through the application’s algorithm. Additionally, it contains violent and disturbing images on popular children’s songs. Parents should prohibit their children from using ad-based applications to avoid any digital malpractice. 

  • Few videos do not pay your child:

Coogan’s Law is not applicable here. Marketing firms and advertisers do not provide any legal assistance to the child’s parents or guardians to deal with kids’ earnings. As the influencer culture is yet in the infant stage, the financial fallout from it is not fully determined.

  • Protect your child with kid safety app:

Kidfluencer does not get protection from the rage of sponsors. Influencers have the internet freedom to create offshoot channels and invite subscribers to join an exciting and engaging content. And such content is too mature for kids to deal with.  If your child is the part of an online bigwig, they will not hesitate in spending time and money that may put them in a vulnerable situation. Children possibly get involved in harmful content, and after a certain period of time, they may not be in a position to leave their job. Hence, as a responsible parent, use child monitoring app to secure kids’ online activities. Various tools of parental control application will protect children in many ways such as:

  • App Blocker to block the malicious and objectionable applications on kid’s device.
  • App Install Blocker to stop kids from installing new apps
  • Time Schedule to mitigate the screen time, and, many more.

A trustworthy child monitoring app will not only keep your kids safe on digital platforms but also protect them from the greedy influencers. Hence, as a caring parent, keep the above points in mind before permitting your child to be a kid influencer. Start using one of the most prominent kid safety app, App Blocker Android appBit Guardian Parental Control with distinctive features for the complete protection of children.