Turning kids into influencers exploitative? Parents divided over issue
The Jakarta Post
A teenage boy stacks cubes that bear the logos of popular social media platforms. (Shutterstock/AlesiaKan)
What do you want to be when you grow up? For some children, the answer is not a doctor, pilot or architect – it is YouTuber. Of the thousands of Indonesian children who want to be social media stars, few are actually living the dream. One of them is Moonella Sunshine Jo. At the age of 5, Moonella has amassed over 1.2 million followers on Instagram and more than half a million YouTube subscribers. Her social media posts are inundated with comments of fans who praise Moonella for her cheerfulness and adorable personality. Her mother, Merry Inggriany, said Moonella had shown a “fondness for being in the public eye" at the tender age of 2, when she first guest starred in several TV shows. Moonella had no problem talking and singing in front of a crowd, Merry claimed, adding that she wanted to support Moonella's passion and further develop her talent in the...
