The Child Stars of YouTube
Exploring the phenomenon of kids YouTube channels
The past decade has seen the rise of the YouTube influencer and since then it seems like everybody has started their own channel. The content of these channels can range from fishing and camping to collecting scrap metal to just about anything that you can think of.
YouTube has given the average person the ability to become a self-taught jack of all trades, to learn things that they had been curious about but, for one reason or another, were unable to learn in a formal setting. I am definitely someone who hits up YouTube when I am trying to learn something new.
There is, however, a section on YouTube that has perplexed me for a few years now. This category is the child’s playtime or toy unboxing category of YouTube that features children as the singular host or as a co-host with one or both of their parents.
Two of the channels that stand out to me in this category are Ryan’s World (formerly Ryan Toys Review) and Turbo Toy Time. Ryan’s World is a toy unboxing, family game time channel that is hosted by a now 11-year-old boy named Ryan.
Ryan has been hosting his channel since he was 3 years old or I should say that he has been featured as the host since he was a toddler. Ryan’s parents can be seen in every one of the channel’s videos asking Ryan what he wants to do today, what he wants to eat (it’s always Mcdonald’s), or if he wants to open up a giant surprise egg full of toys. Of course, he wants more toys, what kid wouldn’t?
My son started watching Ryan on YouTube when he was about 3 and as it turned out so did every other kid. Ryan and his parents tuned into something in our children’s brains that child psychologists can only hope to someday figure out, and they cashed in on it, in a big way. Ryan’s World earns about 36 million dollars per year from YouTube as well as its licensed products such as Ryan’s World toothpaste, Ryan’s World brand bandages as well as a litany of toys and other merchandise, targeted at your kids and mine.
Turbo Toy Time is a similar channel. This channel features a father-and-son concept where the son, Ryden, and the father Andy, unbox and review various toys as well as engage in different activities such as bottle flipping and skateboarding. After seeing Ryden and Andy’s bottle flipping my son wanted to try it as well and it is now an activity that we both enjoy. This channel earns approx. $700,000 per year.
On Turbo Toy Time, this father-and-son duo unbox and review a myriad of toys. This made me wonder, does this kid get to keep all of these toys? The answer to that is no. Andy (the father) has stated that most of the toys are donated to other children that are not as fortunate.
Many channels resemble Turbo Toy Time and Ryan’s World, and seeing how profitable some of these channels are, why wouldn’t parents want their kids to be a YouTube star? But money isn’t everything, and I think the big question is, do these kids get to be, kids?
The kids that are on some of these channels are obviously willing participants and really enjoy what they are doing, almost as if their parents are just filming them doing their favorite activities while enjoying life.
There are other channels in which the kids look like they have been coerced into something that they thought might be fun, but soon realized it was more of a job of sorts than they were ready for. It takes quite a bit of work to make a YouTube channel look good, and just because it’s easier to get your content out there, doesn’t mean that it’s easier to achieve a high-quality production.
I don’t know how many kids I have met that tell me they are going to be YouTubers, my own child included. I think it’s awesome that they want to do something creative but the old person in me thinks, it is advisable to have a solid skill set outside of YouTube. On the other hand, producing a quality YouTube channel requires a variety of different skills, especially if you are a one-man operation doing all of the filming, editing, etc.
But how much exposure is too much? As a parent, I am not comfortable with the level of exposure and public attention that any child YouTuber is currently getting. In my opinion, it is no different than getting your kid into acting so you can use their likeness for financial gain.
When a good percentage of your life is on camera or in the public eye, can you really ever have a moment to yourself? I mean reality TV was bad enough but in this case, it’s your own family that is sticking the camera in your face 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you’re an adult you just have to accept that you won’t have as much anonymity as you used to, but when it comes to kids too much public exposure can be a matter of safety.
The world that we live in is a different place than it was just 10 short years ago. Today we live inside our own echo chambers, with personalized content that is curated algorithmically and fed back to us over and over again.
For my child, watching other kids on YouTube has blurred the line between reality and fantasy, this has made every kid feel like their favorite YouTuber is talking directly to them. My son used to think he was friends with some of these YouTube personalities and was kind of disappointed when he found out that he wasn’t.
YouTube has forever changed children’s entertainment in more ways than one. As with any kind of media our children consume, it is our responsibility to manage what they watch, and in the era of constant consumption, this is more important than ever, no matter which influencer they are watching.
Parents have such a tough job nowadays. I mean, they've always had a tough job!
But now, you have to worry about a rapidly changing technological landscape, where entire new platforms (and ways of doing business) are rolled out faster than we ever imagined possible.
The times, they are a-changing, and so much faster than before. Protecting your kid is a noble instinct, and so is trying to give them the opportunity to learn skills they can parlay into success down the road. What are those skills? Besides being able to *think*, I have no idea.