Dad Exploits Baby on Vine for "Likes" & Money – Kveller
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Dad Exploits Baby on Vine for “Likes” & Money

 

How much social media exposure is harmful to children? Is it wrong to exploit the extreme cuteness of our offspring for vain social media interests? How about for money?

For Nick Confalone, the 6-second Vine videos seemed harmless at first–a creative outlet for a bored stay-at-home dad. But, as he describes in Slate, the road to social media fame is a slippery one, paved with Klondike bar deals.

First came the Ellen interviews, then there was the mass reassurance from followers that he was, in fact, a “good dad,” and soon endorsement deals from Gap and Klondike started trickling in.

Then, one day, “the good dad” had an epiphany. Confalone writes:

Fuming in the kitchen, I realized I couldn’t pretend my Vines were about having fun with my kid anymore. I had become a Skinner rat, refreshing posts every 10 seconds to check for more “likes.” And it didn’t matter if I was making them for myself or for somebody else. I was forcing him to do what wanted.

Moral of the story: if you hassle your poor baby for “likes,” pretty soon you’ll be pimping him out for ice cream.

Here’s a couple of their most popular Vines. Watching them back-to-back starts to seem a little mean-spirited and kinda makes you nauseous. Nevertheless, enjoy:

Are you dizzy yet? Because that poor kid sure is. Either way, share your thoughts in the comments.


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