21st Century Trumans

When The Truman Show was first released in 1998, it was hailed for its ingenuity — depicting an impossible reality where every second of a man’s life is secretly broadcast for millions to watch. However, decades later, the movie no longer provides the same shock value as it once did, especially considering that an entire generation of Trumans has already been growing up in front of everyone’s eyes. Child-centered content, where minors are a central element, has only been gaining popularity in recent years. In Korea, this trend entered the mainstream scene in the early 2010s through observational reality shows such as Dad! Where Are We Going? and The Return of Superman. Eventually, as social media platforms such as YouTube and Instagram became ubiquitous, everyday individuals gained an avenue to share videos of their children online, giving way to the genre of family vlogging.

When a family chooses to publicize their entire life to the world, they also open the doors to a myriad of problems. Because family vlogs often cannot perform the same or even exist without children, if it becomes the household’s primary source of income, the financial burden falls on the kids’ shoulders, inevitably resulting in situations where they are pressured into performing in front of the camera. Additionally, in many cases of family vloggers, the digital footprints of their children begin long before they are born — months even before they can take an actual step. From birth, they are featured in content they do not have the capacity to consent to, let alone understand any of the long list of consequences that may await them. With countless intimate details shared online, these kids are constantly being exposed to potential harm, such as bullying, security threats, or sexual abuse. Indeed, children who have grown up in popular family vlogs may have been able to enjoy the privileges that have come with it. However, is this enough of an excuse for something that is, at best, a blatant exploitation of minors’ absence of agency and, at worst, a possible gateway to crime?

As issues with family vlogging have come to light, there have been efforts — albeit far less than necessary — to regulate child-centered content. However, it is now time to question whether such content should even exist in the first place and whether consumers hold partial responsibility for allowing such dystopian content-producing machines to flourish. After all, can there ever be an ethical justification for seeking entertainment from individuals who are unknowingly being filmed and exposed to the world? Imagine having one’s first steps, first tantrums, and first days of classes all documented and posted online, with everything from one’s most embarrassing experiences to the most devastating memories forever cemented onto the face of eternity. Truly, all children deserve a childhood where The Truman Show is simply nothing but another interesting movie and not an eerie mirror of their reality.