An Update on Our Family

The door I've parents of this young lad got him because they thought he was content for their YouTube channel. They picked an autistic child from China to bring home thinking he would fit right in. They were wrong.

Parents, please listen. Respect your kid's anonymity. Don't post them online. Let them have a happy childhood without fear of cameras catching every moment.

These parents are really gross. Stop entertaining these types of people. They will make you feel like a bad parent just by watching them being so dedicated. They are not dedicated. When those cameras go off those kids are suffering. Do. It support this kind of stuff.

I very much dislike the whole 'family vlogger' thing. In my opinion, it's so clearly being done for financial gain, as well as attention seeking. And the worst part, is that it's at the cost of children. These kids have no parts of their lives that are private, they're not consenting to having their faces plastered on videos for millions to see. They don't consent to millions of strangers basically being voyeurs of their lives. None of that is even counting the massive number of child predators that are out there. I don't even want to imagine the trauma that will cause them as they grow up. I mean, could imagine strangers coming up to you and telling you stories about yourself that you probably don't even remember?? I've watched documentaries of children who are now adults, that have had to change their names because of their parents' incessant need for money and attention.

One of the worst things are the actual viewers themselves, who get so invested in the lives of people they don't even know, that they neglect their own families. I mean, who constantly refreshes their YouTube feed because they're anxiously waiting on an update from strangers' lives? It's just weird. Then they feel like they basically own that family and can all but demand them to release the content THEY want, regardless of whether that family feels comfortable with it. And in this case, these crazy viewers threaten to COME AFTER THEM and their KIDS?!?! Yes, what happened was horrible, but some of these people looked like they lived in their parents' basements, their houses are filthy, etc. They really need to touch grass and sort their lives out before they get so involved in some else's. But at the same time, those vloggers basically asked for it, although the children (who are the real victims)....didn't.

It's just gross and disgusting, and the only way to prevent these tragic things from happening, is to stop watching it. Stop giving these people your views, time, and money. Unlike a lot of the comments I saw in this documentary, I don't wish harm on this family, or the parents. I hope they learn from this experience, and stop putting every aspect of theirs and their children's lives online. I pray they learn to actually enjoy the moments, instead of seeking to profit from them in some way.

I made it most of the way through the first episode before giving up. It was so mind-numbingly boring I just couldn't do it. Everyone discussed the same topics and each person repeated themselves endlessly. The lack of editing made it feel drawn-out and pointless.

With only the first episode out, I'll check back in, but this one felt entirely unnecessary. It's disappointing because the story has so much potential. People have waited years for a quality documentary about this couple, but this production wastes the opportunity with poor editing and no focus.

Loads of camera angles, though ;) if you've seen it you know.

That could have been told in one, 2-hour doc, but instead we're subjected to these incredibly awkward, sincerely troubling parasocial fans that seem very confused as to their 'relationship' with content creators. I'm incredibly troubled by the sheer volume of people who seem to be at least somewhat intelligent, but willfully seem to toss that out the window in order to form false relationships with people who don't exist.

Along with 'content creators' who are so wrapped up in the creation of content and the time it takes to create this unattainable feeling of relatability to portray themselves as something not even remotely resembling real life, that they're all but ignoring that of the very real, very dependent children who are only used as props to convey this ridiculous portrayal to an easily duped public. That our aged Congress is so severely lacking when it comes to social media and that of creation of content that they've allowed this nonsense to fester like an open wound, it's no wonder that there seems to be a new horrifying train wreck surfacing weekly, with children being completely exploited. We have what's referred to as 'Jackie Coogan' laws, but for some reason doesn't apply to any of this, and these creators see no problems with exploitation in the most disturbing and disgusting ways.

The first episode was incredibly disturbing and difficult to consume- there's so many times we felt a need to turn away, yet continues to watch in hopes of a point being made. It's no exaggeration to say that the subjects of this were barely mentioned- and it was more so in passing and in some rather bizarre ways that really shone a light more on those who consume this garbage than that of the creators, themselves. There were some interesting moments but not a single thing pertaining to WHY the filmmakers are there, just weird teases that in supposing are meant to being the viewers back, but plays more like daytime soap operas.

I found a rather comprehensive and interesting article that laid bare the behavior behind this nonsense, and completely finished consuming it within 20 minutes. Skip this and do your own research.

This series is great if you know of online drama but need it to be condensed into an HBO style documentary for you to actually care about any of it. Hannah Cho is the perfect person to lead everyone through it because she explains what's going on through the lens of a fan who had been there from the beginning, but also from the perspective of someone who also lives and breathes social media for her own livelihood. It's like when your bestie is explaining really great controversy happening outside of your social circle that doesn't affect you but is fascinating nonetheless. The perspectives of the journalists covering it vs social media responses in the last episode are part of a larger picture that I'd love to see this documentary team explore more.