The topic of child labour evokes strong emotions and old stereotypes, such as the chimney sweeps of Dickensian London. The good news is that nowadays, child labour can be more pleasant and more rewarding. The bad news is that the question of how to protect working children is more complicated. Many children are grossly underpaid – not necessarily by the master sweep but by their parents.
More and more children, by which I mean minors below legal working age, are producing content as online influencers. A lot of accounts on Instagram, YouTube or TikTok feature such children, and they can be cute, endearing or (depending on your mood) annoying – as well as profitable. By one estimate, the most successful children working in this area – called “kidfluencers” – can generate more than US$20 million (S$27.2 million) a year in revenue.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Read the full story and more at $9.90/month
Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month
ST One Digital
$9.90/month
No contract
ST app access on 1 mobile device
Unlock these benefits
All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com
Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device
E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you
