Children Are Not Actors

“The Truman Show” was a 1998 dystopian comedy-drama about a man whose life was 24/7 live-streamed on television. Though this drama was comedic satire, it has become more than fiction in today’s social media-obsessed world.

Social media is infiltrating the lives of a new generation without their consent. In the past, memories were recorded as home videos to be shared with a close circle of family and friends. With the invention of the internet, this has all changed.

Anyone online can take a front-row seat into the lives of families and their minors through social media. For some children, every big and small moment is filmed, even from birth. Birth vlogs receive anywhere from a few views to millions, depending on the parents’ previous success. Such a private moment is taken from the close comfort of family and can be streamed anywhere in the world on a phone, computer, or television.

The children in these situations have no control over what their parents post online. According to the State of California Department of Industrial Relations website, in California, a child must be at least 15 days old and have a work permit to begin working in the entertainment industry. With social media, a child can be recorded at a few seconds old.

After a nasty history of child actors working without receiving a cent of what they worked for, several laws were passed to right these wrongs in the entertainment industry. However, these laws do not apply to children acting in videos uploaded on the internet. 

Despite the moral issues concerning the unconsented filming of minors, there are a lot more pressing issues at hand. Accompanied by such large viewing audiences, many viewers have the chance to analyze the behaviors of these parents and how they treat their children, especially on camera.

One family notorious on YouTube with backlash over concerns for invasions of privacy, neglect, and abuse was the Franke family, or 8 Passengers as they are known online. Nothing substantial came to light after years of videos displaying moments of alleged mistreatment until recently.

A few years ago, Ruby Franke published a video sharing that as a punishment, her teenage son had been sleeping on a bean bag instead of a bed for months. Another instance of the alleged mistreatment occurred when at least three of her children claimed they had no friends because they could not go anywhere.

On August 31, 2023, a press release was published by the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department detailing the arrest of Ruby Franke and another individual. The previous day, a report came into the Santa Clara-Ivins, Utah dispatch center of a juvenile appearing to be malnourished with “open wounds and duct tape around the extremities.” 

Following a search of the home with a warrant, the evidence found was accurate with the report. No further information has been released at this time. 

After years of viewers attempting to call attention to the family, some justice has been served for these children, but this is only one family.

There are no laws to prevent this from happening again. With all the alleged evidence of abuse, it was only after a minor escaped and asked for help that action took place. 

The one positive feature of social media is that there is a community watching out for these children when their parents are not up to the task. Nevertheless, if no intervention is made, what will happen to these children?

The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) states that after a report has been assigned to an investigator, the investigator has 24 hours to contact the report’s subjects. If there is an assumed immediate risk to the victim, “the investigator will respond as soon as possible.”

Additionally, the guide for caseworkers of Child Protective Services asserts that all information in an investigation, no matter how little evidence there may be, is recorded. This is to keep a report that may expose a pattern in treatment. These practices are in place to protect children and keep them away from harm at home.More policies need to be passed to protect our children. If they are being treated like actors, give them the rights of one. It is unfair, unethical, and inhumane to treat our children in this way and more needs to be done to protect the next generation.