Among the most popular Instagram celebrities in Indonesia are toddlers, children who become famous after their parents regularly post images of their daily activities, such as what they do, what they wear, where they go and what they eat.

Mayesa Hafsah Kirana, Jonathan R. Sugianto, Gempita Nora Marten and Bjorka Dieter Morschek are among the most popular child celebrities thanks to Instagram and their parents. They have stolen the hearts of Instagram users with short videos or photos of their adorable daily antics on accounts managed by their family members.

A majority of users admit to keeping tabs on these children for entertainment.

Bella Datisi, a 23-year-old college student from Bandung, West Java, is an avid fan of Bjorka Dieter Morschek, the son of celebrity couple Ringgo Agus and Sabai Dieter Morschek, and has activated the notification feature so she is alerted each time the celebrity couple post new content about Bjorka on their accounts.

“Their posts make me feel like I’m experiencing a happy family life even though I have yet to experience it myself,” Bella said, adding that she also picks up parenting tips.

The child celebrities have proven to be bankable as commercial brands use them to promote their products. Jonathan, who is better known by his nickname Tatan, uses his handle @jrsugianto for paid endorsements of various commercial products, ranging from snacks to fabric softeners.

Children Media Development Foundation (YPMA) director Bobi Guntarto is also concerned about the Instagram child celebrity phenomenon, which he warns could have a negative impact on the children themselves.

“Irresponsible people can misuse a child’s information for criminal purposes,” he told The Jakarta Post recently.

Parents or family members, Bobi went on to say, “were exploiting their children by constantly putting their children in the spotlight and using them as brand ambassadors without their children’s consent”.

“Since the children are not able to approve or disapprove, their family might take advantage of them by forcing them to do something that they don’t like,” he said, adding that such treatment might also adversely impact a child’s psychological development and behavior.

A child celebrity, Kirana, who became popular through her mother’s Instagram account @retnohening, apparently showed symptoms of negative impact on her behavior recently.

When Kirana and her family returned to Indonesia briefly after years of living in Oman, her fans flocked to her house in Riau, which resulted in Kirana becoming cranky and wary of strangers. Her fans were quick to post judgment, insinuating that Kirana, known as a bubbly girl on Instagram, had changed and become rude, to which her mother, Retno Hening, felt she needed to respond to through her handle @retnohening. Retno previously published a popular parenting book, Happy Little Soul, based on her experience in raising Kirana.

Pop culture expert Hikmat Darmawan explained that many Instagram users were entertained by posts containing family stories because they gave the impression of the perfect family that they might not be able to experience for various reasons.

“These kinds of people often post a picture in which they are posing in a nicely adorned room, together with their cute baby and good-looking partner. This is the ‘reality’ that many people want,” he said.

Because a perfect family is not easy to obtain, Hikmat said, people satisfied themselves by prying into Instagram celebrities’ lives.

“Some people may use this to motivate themselves so that they can achieve such a life,” he added. (dpk)

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