Content featuring sick, sad, or injured children usually performs best online. Let that sink in.

That insane fact is just one of the unsettling realities journalist Fortesa Latifi uncovered while reporting her new book, Like, Follow, Subscribe, a deep dive into the world of kid influencers and the children growing up as brands.

In this episode of Under the Influence, Latifi explores why vulnerable childhood moments go viral, what happens to parent-child intimacy when a phone is always present, and how some kids say they stopped confiding in their parents because private experiences were turned into content.

The conversation also examines the murky legal landscape around child influencer profits, the rise and reinvention of former kid star Piper Rockelle, and the growing fear around AI and deepfakes manipulating children’s images online.

Like, Follow, Subscribe is available wherever books are sold.

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