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Turning kids into influencers exploitative? Parents divided over issue
In Indonesia, it is not uncommon for people to share videos and photos of their children on public Instagram, YouTube or Facebook accounts. Some even monetize these accounts to capitalize on their children’s social media fame.
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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 entertainment industry.
Moonella has starred in the advertisements of online shopping platform Shopee, alongside dangdut star Via Vallen and singer Syahrini.
