Amanda Onofrio Blog #7

       Sisters, Jillian and Addie, ages twelve and nine, have spent most of their time producing age-appropriate content for teenagers since the year 2008. Since 2008 they have successfully reached 2.06 million subscribers and a top hit video titled “Too Many Addies (recut) Part 2 Babyteeth4 Classics!” that received over 120 million views. With the help of their father, Bob, the two girls produce weekly content on their acting, comedy, and lifestyle channels. 

What kind of content do Jillian and Addie typically publish on their channels?

•       Jillian and Addie Channel (2.06M subscribers)

o   Mysteries

o   Spooky skits

o   Epic mini movies

•      Jillian and Addie Laugh Channel (742K subscribers)

o   Sketch comedies

o   Improvisation

•       Jillian and Addie Life Channel (73.2K subscribers)

o   Traveling

o   Day in the life vlogs

o   Room tours

Typically the two girls produce videos ranging from seven to fifteen minutes long of them being themselves and posting entertaining, funny, and interesting content. Their father, Bob is the voice behind the camera as he is responsible for filming all of their videos. In a question and answer website Bob shares a little bit about his daughters’ channels and his motivation for starting it all. Growing up, Bob was always interested in “film and video, and telling stories, and entertainment” (“Hot Topic Babyteeth4,” 2015). He explained that it wasn’t until he was an adult that he really had the desire to make videos of his own. He shared that his first video he had made was for Jillian’s first birthday party; he sent it out to his friends and relatives and it ended up receiving a lot of positive feedback. Due to those responses and having people consistently ask to see the video, he put it on YouTube so they could share it. From then on Bob and his daughter’s careers had reached the media, big time.  

Additionally, Bob’s videos of Jillian and Addie began to go viral, meaning the internet started to know their names. As young girls, Jillian and Addie were not yet involved in social media as they were primarily making videos for their own enjoyment and had never thought their videos would take them places. However, once viewers began to know their names, they started to become more active on their YouTube and got involved in more social media platforms, like Instagram.

As YouTube creators with a rising popularity, it is likely that they initially brought their brand to Instagram for several of the uses and gratifications of social media. It is clear that as kid influencers, they use their Instagram for “social interaction” with their fans and followers as well as the “information sharing” use of social media (Whiting & Williams, 366-367). With the help of the social interaction use of social media, Jillian and Addie are able to interact with their followers via direct message, comments, likes, and even show support by following fans back. Social interaction through social media is really important to the Jillian and Addie channels because they believe engaging with an audience is one of the most important things a channel can do to be successful. As influencers, they do a great job with this as they “spend a lot of time writing careful responses to every comment they can” (“Hot Topic Babyteeth4,” 2015). Along with social interaction, the Jillian and Addie channels use their Instagram platform as a way to share any kind of information they want regarding dates of new uploads, updates their viewers should be aware of, and even sharing what they are up to every day. Instagram allows for the sharing of information and content not only through Instagram posts but also Instagram stories. Furthermore, Jillian and Addie put in a lot of effort into their social media as they constantly post on their Instagram feed and story daily. 

Below is a sneak peek as to what kind of information they regularly put on their Instagram stories and feed @babyteeth4: 

Why do Jillian and Addie resonate with children?

•        Production of age-appropriate content for girls and boys their age
•        Content produced by a responsible father

o   Helps come up with new content ideas that are entertaining, yet kid-friendly

•        They let their subscribers/fans/viewers feel noticed by them through continuous social interaction via Instagram

It can be understood that Jillian and Addie are kid influencers who resonate with children because they engage in the side of YouTube that involves authentic creators who care about their brand and those who support them. It is often that famous YouTubers get caught up in the money or popularity and don’t care about having a relationship with their supporters. For example, the ACE Family, a YouTube channel with over 18 million subscribers, rarely responds to their comments and each member of the family only follows each other on social media and no one else. However, it is evident that Jillian and Addie are different from those content creators; occasionally their account will like some of the comments posted below on pictures or follow some of the accounts back.

Of course with being popular online, hate and backlash towards the creators also comes with it. Now with having an account where the creators are young girls like Jillian and Addie, it is likely that they may come across hate for the way they look, the content their posting, or even judgement against their character. Along with these dangers, online abuse is also a possibility, especially on the YouTube platform. Salter shares that “social networking sites and user-generated content sites such as YouTube that have been most prominent in debates over online abuse and safety” (Salter, p. 8). Therefore, it is possible that putting your child online to create fun and entertaining content like Jillian and Addie’s can be dangerous, however, in this day and age it is almost inevitable and you just have to be cautious of the content being posted. Fortunately for YouTuber’s like Jillian and Addie, parents of children who watch them do not have to worry about their child being in danger and they are completely safe watching this type of content. Bob is a responsible adult who takes pride in the career he and his daughter’s have achieved, therefore, it is reasonable to think that he produces the kind of content he would want his daughters to be watching if roles were reversed.

References

Hot topic babyeeth4 yttalk creators interview. (2015, May 4). YTtalk: Learn share create. Retrieved April 12, 2020, from http://yttalk.com/threads/babyteeth4-yttalk-creators-interview.169508/

Salter, M. (2016). Crime, justice and social media: New directions in critical criminology. Routledge.

Whiting, A. & Williams, D. (2013). Why people use social media: A uses and gratifications approach. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 16(4), 362-369.