Child Influencers

Social media is proliferating with influencers, but despite their prevalence and the extensive body of scholarship, there is no comprehensive book that frames the historical and contemporary phenomenon of child influencers. Drawing on original empirical ethnographic fieldwork and case studies from Asia Pacific and beyond, and spanning various digital platforms (e.g. blogs, fora, social media, messaging platforms), this book looks at the emergence of child influencers and online fame more generally. Crystal Abidin, a pioneering scholar in this field, discusses key historical milestones, scandals, and the social and cultural contexts that have led to ordinary children becoming famous online, and how changing public discourse has resulted in important pivots in the ways we perceive them. The book addresses and challenges some of the oft quoted moral panics against the visibility of children on social media and gives voice and agency to the children, their parents and guardians, and the agents and managers who have been striving to improve the child influencer market through their everyday practices and community norms. Child Influencers is illuminating reading for anyone who wants to understand the phenomena of children and online fame, and why they have proliferated so quickly in society.