Here’s a non-paywalled link to an article published in the Washington Post a few days ago. It’s great to see this kind of thing getting some mainstream attention. Young children have not made an informed decision about whether they want their photos posted online.
It’s weird the parents that are complicit in this, like how do they justify it in their mind? I had a girlfriend in high school whose mom encouraged her to post risque photos online in 8th grade, taking photos of her with her thong out posing seductively etc, she wanted her daughter to be hot. Maybe the parents are trying to relive their youth vicariously.
But you are right, worse than the random parents encouraging this, the platforms knowingly encourage this sexualization of children because they know the ad revenue it can generate.
I highly recommend reading “I’m Glad My Mom Died” by Jennette McCurdy, and watching the “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” Docu-series. It really helped me understand the mentality of parents like this and what they personally want out of it. “Reliving their youth vicariously” is a pretty good summary, along with the belief that making their kids famous will guarantee them a bright future.
But it absolutely exposes children to exploitation and abuse, and sometimes the abuse can be quite extreme.