No Comment! How Wren Eleanor scandal made parents see the sick DARKNESS online
The Wren Eleanor situation has spooked parents across social media, prompting them to either delete videos and photographs of their children from their accounts or turn off comments completely.
Much of the content posted on the TikTok account @wren.eleanor appears fairly harmless at first glance. The page, with more than 17 million followers, mostly consists of videos of the little girl bursting water balloons on the Fourth of July or enjoying some apple cider donuts. The account also seems to be monetized, with Wren's mother Jacquelyn posting sponsored content with brands such as Shein and Hippeas. However, the account has sparked a movement over the past few weeks, with moms on TikTok exposing perverts and creeps that follow the page. A new discussion has since ensued among parents who post content featuring their young children, with many wondering whether images of minors should even be on social media, to begin with.
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It's important to note that there is no concrete evidence to show that Wren is being exploited by Jacquelyn in any way. However, she has faced backlash over the type of content she is posting, including a now-deleted clip of her daughter playing with a tampon, or taking a bath in a bathing suit. In a subreddit dedicated to Wren with over 13,000 subscribers, many pointed out how such videos garnered considerably more likes and saves as compared to some of Wren's innocent videos. Commenters have also alleged that the child is being sexualized by a sizeable contingent of her followers.
“I just came across this whole situation on TikTok and have never been more disgusted and horrified in my entire life,” one commenter wrote on the subreddit. “It makes me incredibly sad that the number one person who is supposed to protect this child just doesn’t seem to care about her safety and well-being, and is just using her as a prop for the spotlight and to pay her way.”
Some propose that parents should avoid posting images of their children on the internet at all costs, regardless of their intentions. “Obviously, there are creeps everywhere and there are a lot of things you cannot control when it comes to protecting children,” one concerned TikTok mom, whose handle is @allthings.kelso, said in one viral video. “But you can control the content you post of your own children on social media,” she added.
The Wren situation has convinced many parents to turn off comments on their social media accounts. In fact, Wren Eleanor's own Instagram account has no comments, and her YouTube channel has been taken down all but one video. Her TikTok account has also turned off comments indefinitely. Some on Reddit were suspicious of the move. "She didn’t turn her comments off to protect wren," one commented. "She turned her comments off so she can continue to exploit her daughter, to the people who haven’t realized it yet."
While another offered, "It’s truly disgusting! idk about anyone else but if I ever got comments about my daughter like this, you can bet your a** I’m deleting my whole entire page," adding, "The well-being of my child Is far more important than some coin and a little bit of clout."
This wren Eleanor situation is disgusting if you have a child watch this pic.twitter.com/l1DIg7ZB1P
— Asmaa (@takiszcgd) June 24, 2022
As mentioned, the controversy has led to a cavalcade of outraged parents removing content featuring their kids on social media, with some proposing there should be regulations in place to protect kid influencers like Wren. “The law hasn’t adapted yet to the current weird realities of social media,” TikToker @hotweirdgirl said in a video. “So these kids aren’t protected by child labor laws.”
While TikTok only allows users 13 and over to use the app, many users skirt the rule by creating parent-managed accounts featuring their children on them. Nonetheless, it's safe to say that the Wren controversy has forged a valuable discourse about the dangers of posting content featuring children on the internet.
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"Predators look for ways to find kids," said Stacy Pendarvis, Program Director of the Monique Burr Foundation for Children in Jacksonville, told Action News Jax. She explained that privacy settings are useless if parents use a hashtag and allow friends of friends to view their posts. "A predator uses those hashtags to look for kids without their clothes on, or in poses, that to them are sexual and can curate those photos and put them on other websites," Pendarvis said. According to her, 90 per cent of children nowadays have an online footprint by the age of two -- simply because their pictures or videos have been posted by parents, friends, or loved ones.
Predators reportedly use hashtags as benign as bath time, potty training, and nap time to prey on minors. "It's unbelievable what people do with pictures of kids," Anila Pouraliafazel, a mother of three, told the outlet. "Sometimes I think delete the whole thing, (social media) we were better off without it," she added.