An Update on Our Family

As Episode 1 of "An Update on Our Family" (2025 release; 3 episodes ranging from 43 to 50 min) opens, we are introduced to Myka and James Stauffer, who painstakingly vlog on the YouTube family channel, going back to 2013. After 3 kids of their own, the couple decides to adopt a special needs boy from China. At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this is the work of director Rachel Mason, who just recently directed the outstanding (if tragic) documentary "Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna". Here Mason examines the phenom that is family vlogging, and as it turns out (wait for it!), things are not quite as they seem. This is not the first documentary looking at this issue. But as it turns out, all of it is just an appetizer for what plays out in Episode 3, when the Stauffers adopt a young boy from China. I won't say more about it so as not to spoil. I must admit I have never heard of this story before, nor am I all that familiar with the multiple family vlogs that apparently exist out there, all hoping to get enough subscribers that YouTube and sponsors will pay them handsomely, but raising the obvious ethical question of what these parents are thinking about making so much of their children's lives available to the public at large without the children's conscious consent. Apart from the interesting ethical issues raised by the documentary, in retrospect all of this could've been handled in far less that the almost 2 1/2 hrs. Running time of the 3 episodes.

"An Update on Our Family" started streaming on Max not too long ago, and I stumbled on it the other night, I watched all 3 episodes in a single setting. This mini-series is currently rated 100% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, which is far too generous in my opinion. If you are curious about the phenom that is family vlogging on YouTube or about adoptions of special needs kids from overseas, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

The documentary uses many editing cliches that have been overdone by the big streamers for about 10 years now. The ticker showing a video's view count rising rapidly. The breaking of the 4th wall when people are being interviewed. It's extremely boring. The first episode take roughly 50 minutes to say: 1) Vloggers are a thing. 2) People really like this particular family vlogger. 3) They might have enjoyed the attention from vlogging too much. That's it. You just saw the first episode. It is a sad reminder that many YouTubers these days can craft better documentaries than Netflix and HBO, with .1% of the resources.

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.

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 feel like instead of a proper documentary, this is one of those obnoxious YouTube video essays. It DRAGS and truly could've told the entire story in an hour. There's a good 30 minutes' worth in the first episode alone where they're just saying the same things over and over and over again.

We get it. People feel community by vlogging. Yes, we get it - YouTube can be lucrative. Yes, we twigged 10 minutes ago that this woman really wanted to be a mom and seemed authentic about it.

It's really frustrating because this doco touches on some actually interesting topics, but it feels a little bit like HBO asked them for an episode count and they had to pad for time. You're better off reading the article the entire thing is based on, because there's no particularly new insights here either (the family they're all discussing declined an interview).