Baby's First Simulacra (Patreon)

The girlies return to the world of family vloggers to answer the important questions — how did the momfluencer come to be and why are we so obsessed with her? Can children ever meaningfully consent to being shared online? Did Jean Baudrillard predict our real life Truman Show with Simulacra and Simulation in 1981? Digressions include your newest NY Times covergirls, the Binchtopia Boy Draft, and one listener’s experience as an assistant momager.

SOURCES:

Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influencer Culture by Sara Petersen

Social Comparison Theory

Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard

Are We To Be Forever Trapped Between the Two? The Internet, Modernity, and Postmodernity in the Early 21st Century by Sarah Michele Ford

Child-produced content and the simulation of childhood: what talking to children about YouTube Kids can teach us about the possibilities of Public Service Media by Dr. Jane O’Connor

New law entitles child social media influencers to a percentage of earnings: ‘It’s kind of a new world’

Why did Mark Zuckerberg cover his kids’ faces on Instagram? Here's what we know

Their lives were documented online from birth. Now, they’re coming of age

The YouTube Parents Who are Turning Family Moments into Big Bucks

Kidfluencers Are Today’s Version of Chimney Sweeps

Research Brief: “Sharenting” and Child Influencers

Sharenting: parent blogging and the boundaries of the digital self

Ruby Franke, Parenting Advice YouTuber, Charged With Child Abuse

​​Who is Ruby Franke? What to know about the mommy vlogger accused of child abuse.

How Susan Schofield’s family YouTube channel became a nightmare

Very Early-Onset Schizophrenia in a Six-Year-Old Boy