Thinking back to our school days, it’s unlikely our guidance counselors ever suggested “influencer” as a potential career path. Yet today, more than half of Gen Z say they want to become influencers, drawn by the allure of fortune and fame – even if it’s only fleeting.
So if your teen has expressed interest in becoming an influencer, they’re certainly not alone. However, there are important risks and challenges you should all consider before deciding to embark on an influencer journey.
What does it mean to be an influencer?
The definition of an “influencer” is a surprising source of debate. Some broadly label an influencer as an online celebrity or someone with a large number of social media followers. But an influencer is more than that: an individual, usually with a large and highly engaged social media following, who has the ability to sway the opinions and behavior of others, especially their spending habits.
To turn their internet fame into a living, influencers produce content in specific fields like beauty, fashion, fitness, travel, or food, to build and engage an audience. They turn that engagement into cash through a variety of channels – including brand partnerships and sponsored posts, affiliate marketing, ad revenue, fan support and subscriptions, selling their own products, and making paid appearances.
While the presence of some influencers spans different platforms, most are primarily associated with one, for example, TikTok or Instagram influencers. At the time of writing, Instagram is where businesses spend the most advertising dollars towards marketing with influencers.
Influencer vs. streamer: what’s the difference?
Though often used interchangeably, “influencer” and “streamer” refer to different types of online content creators. When talking to your teen about their online aspirations, it’s worth determining which path they want to go down, as the risks and challenges can differ.
An influencer creates pre-recorded content intending to shape opinions, trends, and sway viewers’ spending habits, typically on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. A streamer, on the other hand, broadcasts live video over the internet – often gaming on platforms like Twitch, Kick, or YouTube Live – while interacting in real time with their audience.
If your teen has dreams of becoming a streamer, you’ll want to check these four tips to help them stream safely.
Why might a teen want to be an influencer?
Based strictly on social media appearances, it seems like influencers live a charmed life – they get paid to travel, eat in nice restaurants, stay in luxury hotels, and get cool stuff sent to them for free. So the question should be, who wouldn’t want to be an influencer?
In reality, only a select few make it to that level, and behind the glamorous photos lies a great deal of hard work. Still, the allure of their internet idols’ lifestyles can be extremely enticing for young people who want to replicate them themselves.
While some teens are drawn to the idea of celebrity and wealth, others might want to become influencers to connect with others and build a community. Some are simply passionate about expressing their creativity and using their editing skills to engage an online audience.
How young is too young to be an influencer?
Most social media platforms set 13 years old as the minimum age for account creation in the U.S. (in compliance with COPPA). Other countries require users to be older; for example, in France and Germany, this age rises to 15. Beyond legal considerations, more important factors include a teenager’s developmental readiness and emotional ability to handle the challenges of sharing their life with strangers online.
With kids immersed in platforms like Instagram and TikTok from a young age, it’s not uncommon for preteens to want to become influencers. Some parents allow – and even encourage – this, leading to a practice known as “kidfluencing”.
What is kidfluencing, and why is it controversial?
While a kidfluencer can be anyone under 18 who produces content for a large online audience, the practice of kidfluencing more commonly refers to younger children who act as influencers on social media under the guidance and management of adults (usually their parents), primarily for financial gain.
This has led many to believe that kidfluencing is a form of child labor, raising serious concerns about child rights, privacy, consent, exploitation, and long-term psychological impact, to name a few.
The risks and challenges faced by teenage influencers
It may seem like a dream job, but being a teenage influencer carries with it a unique set of pitfalls and safety risks. These can include:
Cyberbullying
The larger your teen’s online audience, the more likely they are to attract “haters”. While online negativity can be difficult for anyone to handle, minors are often less equipped with the emotional tools to deal with hateful and abusive comments.
Inappropriate demands
Anyone with an online presence can be exposed to harmful people, like predators. However, influencers are in particular danger as they are more likely to interact with strangers and brands, especially if their DMs promise opportunities to make money or build their audience. This can lead to teenagers being asked to do things they’re not ready for, such as posing with little clothing or undertaking dangerous challenges.
Oversharing
An influencer spends a lot of time interacting with their followers, and sometimes they may let slip personal information that can have harmful consequences. These dangers can be even greater for teenagers, who may not fully grasp the risks of revealing personal data. Sharing details like their home address, school, or phone number can expose them to serious threats, including doxxing, harassment, scams, and grooming.
Grind culture
Grind or hustle culture is rife in the world of influencing, where many creators believe the more work you do, the more successful you’ll become. Unlike a typical 9-to-5 job, influencing can happen anywhere, anytime – all an influencer needs is a smartphone and an internet connection to create content or engage with their audience. For a teenager who may not yet have fully developed impulse control, this overwork can lead to burnout, as well as them falling behind at school.
Strain on mental health
Burnout and excessive screen time aside, the pressures of being an influencer can take a serious toll on a teenager’s mental health. Social media use has been shown to negatively affect self-esteem – and these effects can be amplified for teen influencers, who spend much of their time online, under the world’s magnifying glass.
If left unchecked, an influencer’s self-worth can become tied to likes and follower counts, while hateful comments from jealous strangers can lead to upset, anger, or mental health issues. The phrase “comparison is the thief of joy” has never been more relevant than in the context of social media; it’s easy for influencers to fall into the trap of constantly measuring themselves against their peers, fueling anxiety and eroding self-esteem.
4 tips to help keep your teenage influencer safe online
If you’ve considered the pitfalls and want to be involved in how your teen posts on social media, these tips can help them stay safe.
1. Get involved
If you don’t want to run their account or micromanage, it’s important you still take an active interest in what they’re posting, who their followers are, and how certain comments make them feel.
2. Take privacy precautions
While pumping out content to engage an audience, sometimes an influencer may let slip details about their personal life, and as they say, nothing gets truly deleted from the internet. Teens have to be extra vigilant as they tend to have less-developed impulse control, and may not realize the full consequences of revealing personal data to strangers online.
This list isn’t exhaustive, but here are a few ways your teen can protect their privacy online:
- Don’t reveal real names, addresses, workplaces, or schools
- Don’t wear school or work uniforms in photos or videos
- Be mindful of what’s visible in content that could reveal identity or location, i.e., landmarks or street signs from a window, shipping labels on packages
- Regularly review privacy settings and passwords.
3. Use safety settings
Some social media platforms have safety features that your teen should know about before starting to post. These include:
- Pinterest. Less emphasis on followers and likes. Focuses on visual creativity and discovery over social interaction. No public comments on pins.
- YouTube. Offers age-restricted settings and supervised accounts for under-18s; comments can be disabled or filtered.
- Instagram (with Parental Supervision Tools). Allows a parent to monitor their teen’s activity on Instagram through a connected account, with the teen’s consent. Can filter content, disable DMs from strangers, and moderate comments. Accounts for under-18s are automatically made private.
- TikTok (with Family Pairing). Linked accounts allow a parent to set screen time limits, restrict content, and filter or disable DMs. Under-16 accounts are private by default.
BrandArmy, a content subscription service, has “Junior Channels” which allow under-18s to join the platform and post content for subscribers. However, we found several red flags and do not recommend the platform, despite it being aimed at teen creators. X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook lack suitable built-in safety features for teens, so it’s best to avoid these platforms.
4. Set fair time limits
Creating content for an engaged audience can be a lot of fun, but a teenager may feel pressure to keep up with the demands of the industry and find themselves posting, chatting, and live-streaming around the clock. Without structure, this lifestyle can lead to burnout, falling grades, and an erratic sleep schedule.
Establish screen-time boundaries with your teen, such as agreeing on “no-phone zones” – for example, during meals, and before bed – or separating “social media time” from “family time”.
To set screen time limits and provide protection, consider using parental control tools. With Qustodio, you can track and limit the time they spend on social media, block access to specific platforms, and receive alerts if something concerning comes up in their social chats.
Drawn to fame, fortune, and free “swag”, many teens view becoming an influencer as a viable career path. While for a very select few it can be rewarding – both financially and creatively – the lifestyle also comes with risks that can be especially challenging for young people. By showing interest in what they post, emphasizing the importance of protecting personal information, choosing platforms wisely, and setting fair boundaries, you can help keep your teen safe while they use social media.
