Kidfluencing als digitale Kinderarbeit? Zur Kommodifizierung und Kommerzialisierung von Kindheit im Internet

Abstract

Kidfluencing as Digital Child Work? On the Commodification and Commercialization of Childhood on the Internet
The term “kidfluencer” refers to children and juveniles who have gained popularity on social media platforms by creating and sharing content. Kidfluencing may be highly commercialized, incorporating various brand collaborations, sponsorships, and other commercial ventures. Based on a theoretical framework that combines the perspective of children as social actors in the digital realm with sociological approaches to child work and child labour, this paper will analyze the phenomenon of kidfluencing through TV and online documentaries about German-speaking kidfluencers and their parents as well as a netnographic analysis of their Social media accounts. The analysis shows that in kidfluencing age-specific practices of friendships and leisure time are digitally commodified to generate traffic on social media and create advertising contexts for product placement. Kidfluencers are an important element of digital supply chains and often execute all content creation tasks themselves. However, aspects of commercialization tend to be negotiated between parents and professionals, leading to a risk of exploiting children.
Keywords: kidfluencing, child work, digitality, commodification of childhood, digital work, child rights

Bibliography: Rohde-Abuba, Caterina/Kreuzer, Kristina: Kidfluencing als digitale Kinderarbeit? Zur Kommodifizierung und Kommerzialisierung von Kindheit im Internet, PERIPHERIE – Politik • Ökonomie • Kultur, Nr. 179 (2-2025), pp. 298-322.