The case of Jackie Dejoone of the first examples of baby influencers, can only make us reflect on the influence of social media on minors and children risks that these run in an increasingly connected world. The young woman, now twenty years old, is grew up in the spotlightrun by her parents and the brands that sponsored her from an early age.
What started as a family pastime on Facebook with photos and videos of Jackie on the snowboard slopes quickly became one profitable career: at 8 years old, Jackie landed on Instagram and started working with sports brands, turning into a small web celebrity.
Over time, however, the increase in followers brought about a disturbing change in his fan base. Adolescents and their peers were joined by adults who, attracted by the innocent image and growing sensuality of the girl, they started following her with less innocent motives.
His photos ended up on child pornography forums and chat rooms of adult men
Between the ages of 13 and 15, things got even worse when Jackie began collaborations that included swimsuit promotions and increasingly suggestive photographsattracting job requests from platforms dedicated to sharing provocative content. Despite no explicit nudity, the photos were seductive enough to quickly find space on child pornography forums and adult men’s chats.
After finishing school he already had earned more than $800,000 selling photos online. At the age of majority, Jackie decided to take the leap and opened a profile on platforms such as OnlyFanswhere he sold paid content, and on Playboychoosing to monetize his image more explicitly.
The young woman today says she feels happy and satisfied with her career, which has allowed her to accumulate sufficient assets to guarantee her a luxurious lifewith yachts and homes of their own. However, his journey raises many questions about the risks and consequences of exposing minors to an uncontrolled global audience.
Only years later, in fact, Jackie he discovered what happened to his photos and two of the photographers he had worked with were charged with child exploitation. And to this we add the fact that, from a psychological point of view, the implications are notable with children who – exposed to social media from an early age – may not be able to learn the difference between public and private and create masks that compromise their authenticity.
