Moshimoshi folks!

I’m thrilled to share this radio interview featuring my colleague Tama Leaver and I speaking with ABC RN Life Matters on young children in viral social media videos.

In this segment, we discuss the rise of viral videos starring very young children, how they are being co-opted into TV talk shows (i.e. The Ellen DeGeneres Show), and how parents (unwittingly or deliberately) play a part in such sensational celebrity.

You can listen to the interview here.

Tama and I will be co-presenting our full paper on this phenomenon, “From YouTube to TV, and Back Again: Viral Video Child Stars and Media Flows in the Era of Social Media” at the Digitising Early Childhood International Conference in Perth happening this week. Read some conference spotlights here and follow along on Twitter at #digikids17.

See also my 5min Snapchat lecture on young children in viral social media videos here.

If you are interested, here is some further reading on my work on young children in the age of internet celebrity:

Abidin, Crystal. 2017. “#familygoals: Family Influencers, Calibrated Amateurism, and Justifying Young Digital Labour.” Social Media + Society 3(2): 1-15. DOI: 10.1177/2056305117707191 <Link | PDF>

Abidin, Crystal. 2015. “Micromicrocelebrity: Branding babies on the Internet.” M/C Journal 18(5). <Link | PDF>

“When exploiting kids for cash goes wrong on YouTube: the lessons of DaddyOFive.” The Conversation, 2 May 2017. <Link>

“Micro-microcelebrity: famous babies and business on the internet.” Parenting for a Digital Future, LSE Blogs, 20 January 2017. <Link>

“New’s kid on the blog.” The New Paper, 9 January 2011. <Link>

If you work in similar areas or would like to chat about these works, please feel free to get in touch!