Kidfluencers, public relations and human rights: An exploration of the impact on the human rights of children as social media influencers within public relations and promotional practice

In this article we explore the human rights of children as important stakeholders in public relations (PR) practice by examining the phenomenon of social media influencer children, commonly termed kidfluencers. Children’s human rights in the digital realm have been a focus for the United Nations and those researching from media, communications and law disciplines, but have largely been ignored by PR scholarship. Given social media influencer relations is now an important part of PR practice, and a multibillion-dollar global industry, the need for more research on the genre from a PR perspective is apparent. Our research, using the UN (Human) Rights of the Child as a framework, and examining publicly available media reports on the topic of kidfluencers, uncovers key areas of concern for children working as kidfluencers, and for PR practitioners working with these children. We argue for more focus on children as stakeholders in PR research and suggest that PR practitioners and organisations need to put children at the centre of their thinking.