ICYMI

The Child Content-Creator Crash is Coming

What Lil Tay’s death rumors signal about the child influencer economy.

Episode Notes

On today’s episode, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton dive deep into the mystery shrouding Lil Tay, a 14-year-old influencer who went viral in 2018 for being the “youngest flexer of the century.” In the years since her arrival onto the scene, Lil Tay has been hounded by controversy concerning her parents’ custodial battle, allegations of abuse, and suggestions of exploitation. When rumors started swirling early last week that the 14-year-old and her older brother had passed, online speculation began in earnest, speculation that was in no way stemmed by news that Lil Tay and her brother are alive.

Since the dawn of social media, content created about and by children has been inescapable—and extremely profitable. As these children reach adulthood, a national reckoning similar to the one that led to the Coogan Law seems inevitable. But who will have suffered before that reckoning comes?

This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim, and Rachelle Hampton.

About the Show

Join Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton twice a week as they gaze deep into the online abyss—and tell you what’s gazing back. All episodes

Hosts

  • Candice Lim is the co-host of ICYMI, Slate’s podcast about internet culture. She comes to Slate from NPR, where she was an assistant producer at Pop Culture Happy Hour. Prior to that, she was an intern at NPR’s How I Built This, the Hollywood Reporter, WBUR, and the Orange County Register. She graduated from Boston University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and grew up in Orange County, California.

  • Rachelle Hampton is a culture writer and reporter at Slate and co-host of ICYMI. Her work has appeared in the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian Magazine, and In These Times. She still hasn't recovered from Tumblr’s demise.