The dangers of ‘influencers’ and brands targeting your kids with ads

Influencers target children with heavy product placement disguised as storytelling, often making it difficult for kids to recognise it’s a paid promotion

A parent’s first job is to know what kinds of things that their children watch on YouTube, TikTok or Instagram. Photo: Getty

Dr David Coleman

Children are vulnerable when they are online. Parents worry about things like cyberbullying, sexual exploitation (sextortion), identity theft, falling victim to phishing or smishing scams or simply that their child is spending too much time online.

There are other dangers, however, that appear a lot more innocuous. For example, your son or daughter may follow certain celebrity or popular people on Instagram or TikTok, or subscribe to certain YouTubers. We have come to label these kinds of people, often with huge followings, as influencers since they often try to monetise their notoriety by promoting products.