RyanLand
Without a doubt, there is no more egregious case of child maltreatment on mainstream YouTube than what we discussed last week.
You might be thinking, why would you use the most climactic material halfway through the semester? It would be a fair question about the structure of my blog posts.
But DaddyOFive was very clearly wrong. Anyone can look at the story (except for those who play devil’s advocate just to get under my skin) and agree that should have never happened. Unfortunately, in life and online, for some people right and wrong are not as clear in other cases.
Those things are more interesting to look at, in my opinion. The light, dark, medium, medium-light, medium-dark shades of grey are the things we can actually have a conversation about.
When I
spent a grueling year and a half working in the 99-Cents Only Store, never hearing the end of how it was in fact not a store that sold everything for 99 cents, I saw some strange stuff.
One thing people may not realize is that new products are sometimes tested in the store. Mostly weird flavored cereals or snack cakes. And though these specific products are now sold all over, I was very shocked to find a product by Ryans World sitting in the mess of toys in the back corner of the store.
Ryan’s World is a YouTube channel starring Ryan Kaji, a little boy who was only three when he began his career. On his channel, he unboxes toys, plays games, and does science experiments.
When Ryan was three, he complained to his mother, asking her why he wasn’t like the other kids who he saw on YouTube.
SO, as all mothers would, Ryan’s Mom quit her job and put her three-year-old on YouTube.
And, okay, pause. I’m actually not against children posting online.
This has been a topic of debate recently, as a certain rapper has brought this topic to the forefront.
But I grew up posting on YouTube. I had a channel with my friends as well as a solo channel. I never showed my face or name on that one and had a video get nearly 100k views. Eleven years later I do not think I’d be able to mimic the success. I think it is fun and for the most part, the content is swallowed up by the void that is the internet.
But someone should reevaluate when the content garners traction, right?
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There clearly was some reflection, and Ryan began posting videos every day.
In 2019,
Ryan’s World, formerly Ryan’s ToyReview, was named YouTube’s highest-earning star by Business Insider. He also scored the opportunity to be on a Hulu show. And as commentary YouTuber Eddy Burback (whose video inspired this post after auto-play magically put it on for me yesterday evening as I made dinner) points out the title:
Ryan’s World Special Presented by pocket.watch
Has the name of the sponsor in the name of the show, which is a cute capitalistic quirk. I mean at least it is something new?
But in all seriousness, the weird entanglement of advertisements in children’s YouTube media, especially unboxings, is an issue. So much so, that a complaint was filed by Truth In Advertising against YouTube in regards to Ryan’s World for not making their promotions of products clear enough for their young audience to understand.
That is just one of many problems with the ways this channel and the companies it partners with operate. Going back to the Hulu show, it is actually an animated children’s show where Ryan has been turned into a superhero and has a cast of animal and monster friends.
On the surface, it’s cute, but is it strange to anyone else that this child who has been making his parents millions every year since he was three has had his likeness used by a team of animators? The way his has identity has been taken from him is evident in statements made been by corporate partners where they hope for him to someday be like Spongebob or Mickey Mouse.
You know, Mickey Mouse. The character whose head is plastered thousands of times in theme parks all over the globe? Whose ears sit on top of the heads of thousands of theme-park goers every day?
That is the future for Ryan Kaji?
This is a little boy. A human boy. Who was three years old when he stepped into the spotlight.
His parents claim he loves it and that he is the one who wanted to start the channel. I don’t doubt he is having fun opening toys all the time. But, it isn’t fair to put the responsibility of starting an online career in the hands of a then-toddler. And it doesn’t feel right to manufacture activity books and toys and plushies and merch over cartoon characters derived from your son’s likeness.
