Seeking social media stardom for their underage daughters, mothers post images of them on Instagram. The accounts draw men sexually attracted to children, and they sometimes pay to see more.

The ominous messages began arriving in Elissa’s inbox early last year.

“You sell pics of your underage daughter to pedophiles,” read one. “You’re such a naughty sick mom, you’re just as sick as us pedophiles,” read another. “I will make your life hell for you and your daughter.”

Elissa has been running her daughter’s Instagram account since 2020, when the girl was 11 and too young to have her own. Photos show a bright, bubbly girl modeling evening dresses, high-end workout gear and dance leotards. She has more than 100,000 followers, some so enthusiastic about her posts that they pay $9.99 a month for more photos.

Over the years, Elissa has fielded all kinds of criticism and knows full well that some people think she is exploiting her daughter. She has even gotten used to receiving creepy messages, but these — from “Instamodelfan” — were extreme. “I think they’re all pedophiles,” she said of the many online followers obsessed with her daughter and other young girls.

Elissa and her daughter inhabit the world of Instagram influencers whose accounts are managed by their parents. Although the site prohibits children under 13, parents can open so-called mom-run accounts for them, and they can live on even when the girls become teenagers.

Non-paywall link

  • Facebones
    8·
    4 months ago

    I really appreciate somebody covering this story. It seems child fashion keeps getting tighter and skimpier, but (especially as a man) you can’t have an opinion on it because “it’s their life/it’s their body/it’s not sexual you’re sexualizing them/etc.”

    As a content trend, it can be hard to avoid. I’m not even on most social networks, just YouTube and Facebook. I follow a couple of professional adult (age wise, not style wise) dancers on YouTube, and I’ll click on various shorts if they look interesting on both yt and fb. With the algorithms doing algo stuff though sometimes it feels like I’m never more than two absent minded clicks away from something that feels obviously tailored to ““a certain crowd.””

    I’d love to see more done to fight it but unfortunately with the political trends in America you can’t let your kid feel out a different pronoun and haircut BUT freedom dies if you can’t monetize your child’s body on the internet.