Online “influencers” seem to me to be a fairly clear example of a job that shouldn’t exist.
An actual content creator who adds value, and gets some affiliate money for pitching products they actually use? I can deal with that.
But let’s see how you deal with this, as reported in the lead story in this week’s issue:
Influential
Kelly Hopton-Jones, an online “motherhood influencer” in Texas, says her family has suffered “the worst day of our lives.” She said this, of course, on her Instagram account, where she has more than 65,000 followers. The incident: “In a matter of seconds our son was run over by our car. I was driving,” she wrote after backing over her almost-2-year-old, Henry, in their driveway. She went on to lecture families about how not to do that, using captions superimposed on a photo of her hospitalized boy, posting it all later that same day. “Non negotiable to hold or hold hands with young children around vehicles,” she wrote. And of course the smarmy “Accidents happen, and the only mistakes are the ones we don’t learn from.” She was lambasted in the post’s comments, such as pointing out that her car has a backup camera and proximity alarms. Hopton-Jones, 36, is a pediatric nurse-practitioner who presumably knew how to render first aid. She took Henry to a hospital for treatment of pelvic fractures. (RC/NBC) …When brand consistency overrides circumstances, accountability is edited out.
It’s a great example of “the taglines are not always meant to be funny,” which I have been repeating for well over 20 years.
Her Own Readers’ Reaction
As I reviewed the post about her running over her own child (though she wouldn’t say that exactly — he “was run over by our car” you see), I scrolled through quite a few of the comments to screencap a few for illustration, and didn’t find a single one that backed her. Not that there couldn’t possibly be any, but I sure as heck wasn’t going to review nearly 3,000 comments!
Several that I skipped while collecting examples were very pointed, cussing her out and/or accusing her of purposefully injuring her kid. I doubt she went as far as doing that (yes, I’m aware of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, now known [since DSM-5, 2013] as FDIA: Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another), but I do note that, just maybe, she has been shaken into actually thinking: she hasn’t posted anything else since that one, as of my check this (Monday) morning. Perhaps her husband slammed his foot down …on her phone.
I’m specifically refusing to include any of her photos of the boy, in the hospital or otherwise. Even if she doesn’t think her own son deserves privacy, I won’t be part of spreading his photos. Though if I get the chance later, perhaps I’ll circulate her mug shot.
Under the Influence
I looked to see the first time I wrote about these social vampires: it was July, 2019, I found out as I was putting this page together. And the slug (title) on the story above is an echo of that first one:
Influential
“We don’t want Instagram to feel like a competition,” says Adam Mosseri, the company’s head. “We want people to worry a little bit less about how many likes they’re getting on Instagram, and spend a bit more time connecting with the people they care about.” The company, owned by Facebook, is starting to hide the number of “Likes” any specific post receives in hopes of “improving the mental health” of its users. But Instagram “influencer” Mikaela Testa of Melbourne, Vic., Australia, is so upset over the move she streamed a video of herself crying and ranting about how she is “suffering” from the change. “If you think this is okay you can f**k off,” she posted. “It’s actually a sad day for those who have Instagram as a job.” She has fewer than 50,000 followers — and many were not sympathetic. “Guuurl needs to get back in touch with reality,” one said. “Get a life and a job while you’re at it,” said another. “Regardless of what you may think,” Testa says, “Instagram is a REAL job and those in the industry have worked hard to get where they’re at. It’s people that aren’t even in the industry that think it’s a f***ing joke.” (New York Times, Melbourne Herald Sun) …No, not at all. They think you’re the f***ing joke.
The story at the top of the page is at least the 19th True story about influencers: the second was about influencers trying to get free ice cream from a Los Angeles vendor who was doing very well without them, and finally posted a photo of himself on his own Instagram with a sign reading, “Influencers Pay Double” — and that went viral.
There seems to be little sympathy for those in the “profession” of “influencing” others.
The stories from my archive include multiple paranoid “influencers” calling police to accuse random strangers of trying to kidnap their children (or do other nefarious things) which turn out to have been recorded by security cameras, which prove no such thing happened, and the influencers are the ones arrested (for making a false report, or for doing ugly things to their own children to get views).
It is truly disgusting.
The Kids Grow Up
At least, they grow up if given the chance to.
One of many reasons I refused to include any photos from Hopton-Jones page is I know for a fact that some of these kids really resent their objectification when they reach adulthood, as proven in this story from a little over a year ago:
The Cameras Are Rolling
In 2015, Ruby Franke started the Youtube channel “8 Passengers” featuring her home life: the Utah family had 6 children. It was a hit: by mid-2020 the channel had around 2.5 million subscribers and her 5-day-a-week videos combined had over 1 billion views. But viewers became concerned with her disciplinary methods; husband Kevin moved out, and authorities moved in, charging Franke and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, a therapist, with aggravated child abuse. The women eventually pleaded guilty to four counts each, and in February 2024 they were sentenced to 4–30 years in prison. “The novelty of the Mormon religion makes Utah and mom influencers … that much more interesting,” explains Michigan State Univ. Prof. Mariah Wellman, who studied Mormon influencers for her Ph.D. Now in college, Shari Franke, Ruby’s eldest daughter, has written a memoir describing her childhood, where her awkward moments were televised by her mother. The “constant surveillance was excruciating,” she wrote. “All I wanted was to grow up in peace.” She is backing legislation to protect children from mommy vloggers. When a reporter asked Utah-based “influencers” to comment, all refused. (Wall Street Journal) …On the grounds it may incriminate them.
The law Shari Franke championed was passed, and went into effect later in 2025. Among other provisions, it requires parents of child influencers earning over a certain amount to set aside a percentage of earnings in a trust, and gives minors a way to remove content they were in once they’re adults.
Shari Franke’s book, The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom * (the title really says something, doesn’t it?!), became an “Instant” #1 New York Times bestseller. Now that’s an actual content creator who adds value! It was also a bestseller en Español.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the job “influencer” should be made illegal, but I would say that there are ethical lines, and we have seen them cross those lines again and again. (Not to mention the legal lines that have landed some of them in prison.) So I will say that they are a sign of a sick society where “social media” is the underlying culprit, the medium carrying the message.
But then, what do you think? Comments are open.
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I really enjoy the issues. This one made me mad reading about the negligent Mother and the story about the monster truck driver. Keep them coming.
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You “should” get mad at some of this! It’s very maddening. Getting mad is the first step toward change. -rc
The problem is that it’s a very broad spectrum, from people who post advice and demonstrations about things they know about (or are learning about), to people who are just writing a “day in my life” diary for others to read (and learn from, or laugh at), to people who do bizarre things for attention, to people who are just loony-tunes.
One end of that spectrum seems valuable. The middle, yeah, whatever, if people want to watch that’s up to them, and the other end, well…
Greed, whether for money or attention, seems to be the norm these days. Responsibility needs to be practiced. But how do you hold the influencer mother accountable without further traumatizing the kid?
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Very simply, if a parent commits a crime, they need to face justice. Someone else in the family suffers when they go to prison? Happens every day, eh? -rc
[dramatic gasp] But that’s only for *those* people. Not white middle-class influencers!
Sarcasm aside, the US justice system is sadly skewed. This woman will get off lightly, if she’s even charged. Had this happened in a different neighborhood, say with a 20 year old car (no bells & whistles) and woman of color on her way to clean rooms in a motel, I’d wager a jail sentence and loss of custody of any/all children.
I still ask myself, what about the trauma to the kid? It’s bad enough that our society has thrown personal responsibility out the window. But at the same time, we ignore the natural fallout of our actions/inactions — personal and institutional — and then complain, or get outraged if it hits too close to home.
It’s perfectly possible to do a parental blog or channel that doesn’t name or photograph the children, or greatly limits photographs. I’ve also seen some that also limit followers to personal friends. I don’t see anything wrong with those.
The example in the stories, however, are way out of line.
I’ve always asked my kids permission to share… mostly they say no. I wonder about youtube as well. I see lots of families vlogging… but I always wonder “what if…”.
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You show great respect to your children’s autonomy, which will help them throughout their lives. Kudos. -rc