The Commodification of Family Life: Child Protection and Ethical Dilemmas in Content Marketing

The rapid growth of family vlogging and influencer culture has positioned children as central figures in monetised social media content, raising urgent ethical and child protection concerns. This study critically investigates how children are represented and utilised in family-oriented YouTube content, with particular attention to issues of consent, privacy, and exploitation. Employing netnography within an interpretive qualitative framework, the analysis draws on approximately 50 publicly available YouTube videos across five family vlogging channels observed between December 2024 and July 2025. Findings reveal four key patterns: idealisation of family life, normalisation of child visibility, moral concern from audiences, and uncertainty toward commercialisation. These dynamics reflect a troubling convergence of parental agency, algorithmic monetisation, and audience demand that systematically undermines children's autonomy. Situated within the Sri Lankan context, where limited regulatory oversight and cultural norms of parental authority intensify these vulnerabilities, the study argues that existing legal and ethical frameworks are insufficient. It proposes a child-centred digital ethics framework structured around evolving consent, transparency, income protection, and cultural sensitivity, and calls for updated digital child protection policies and transparent platform governance.