The children of celebrity culture and our expectations of them Sophie Turner accidentally posted a video of her daughter, opening a debate about data protection and children's rights on the internet
On 1 May, Sophie Turner accidentally posted a video of her daughter Willa, 3, in Stories on her Instagram profile, which is followed by more than 14 million people. It was a strange occurrence, as Turner and her husband Joe Jonas have not shown their children (Willa has a baby sister who was born in 2022) online or in their public appearances. Shortly afterwards came the explanation for this uncharacteristic behaviour: It was a mistake. The Game of Thrones actress deleted the footage and wrote, again in Stories, in black and white: "A few hours ago today, I made a mistake and accidentally posted a video of our daughter on Instagram Stories. We have always fought for our children's right to privacy, and sharing content about them with the public goes against everything I believe in. Our children deserve the right to grow up, learn and develop privately away from the public eye. If I ever post anything with our children again in the future, please know that it is definitely and without question a mistake. I would appreciate it if whoever republished the video on another platform would please delete it."
Even if we do not deal with the issue of family and mother as influencers and limit ourselves strictly to celebrities, it is easy to see how the problem arises now more than ever and how it is exacerbated by social media. Even celebrities who are entertainers and owe their fame to dancing, singing or acting, among other things, are treated as actual influencers and are expected to have a full and constant online presence, without censorship or genuine moments of privacy. This opens up a discussion about celebrity culture and audience expectations. Between Instagram and magazines, do we as entertainment content users feel that it is our right to know everything about our favourite actor or singer, including offspring? In a time when all it takes to go viral is to post the right content at the right time, and when some people become famous by sharing every moment of their lives on Instagram or TikTok, are we then convinced that total sharing has become an inevitable condition of fame? A price to pay in return for admiration and multi-million dollar contracts? Is this growing trend of publishing one's everyday life on the internet creating inhumane and far-fetched public expectations?
A while back, the pregnant Lively shared a carousel of photos of her pregnancy on Instagram, where the baby bump was clearly visible, writing, "Here are photos of me pregnant so the 11 people waiting outside my house to see the unicorn can leave me alone. They scare me and my children. Thank you to everyone else for the love and respect and for continuing to unfollow accounts and publications that post photos of children. You have all the power against them. And thank you also to the media who have a No Kids Policy. They make all the difference." Ben Affleck had made similar comments back in 2013, pointing in advance to a problem that has only worsened, but of which the public seems to be increasingly aware and whose long reach will only be observable once these children are adults.
