When four-year-olds become Insta rockstars

A few days ago, I was chatting with my mother. I happened to mention a popular Instagram page called Foreverandforava (976k followers). This page features two four-year-old girls called Everleigh (1.7 M followers) and Ava (509 k followers). Their respective accounts, as well as their joint account, are run by their mothers, Savannah (1.8 M followers) and Michelle (142 k followers).

My mother was shocked. She just could not understand why two mothers would broadcast their children’s lives on Instagram before they were even potty trained! Indeed, the idea is pretty ridiculous, especially since now, at age four, these children are already worldwide sensations. Everleigh’s mother is getting remarried in only a week, and the whole world will be watching to see how that goes. Everyone can see that Ava is always slightly shadowed by her bestie. In fact, everybody seems to be watching everything that goes on in their lives.

Of course, we all want followers and popularity on Instagram. But I’m really not sure I would want to be mobbed every time I entered Disneyland, or have my reaction to every new gift filmed.

Anyway, if you think that Everleigh and Ava are too small for fame, take a look at this — Ava’s mother, Michelle Foley, is pregnant and will be having a baby boy in a few days. Michelle has already created an Instagram account for Jayden Ryan Foley (30.2 k followers). And he is still in the womb. No doubt we will be seeing a lot of him when he is born!

Everleigh and Ava also release vlogs and videos very often on YouTube, and invite other YouTubers to be their special guests. Among these are one-year-old twins called Taytum and Oakley Fisher (487k followers), who also happen to be Everleigh’s cousins. 

As I write this column, I’m realising something strange. I seem to know much more about this distant family than I do about my own cousins, uncles and family gossip.

Now, you may wonder how on earth these kids get famous. They don’t have any apparent talent and, other than modelling a bit, do not do much except make vlogs of themselves playing with friends, opening gifts and doing popular YouTube challenges. Well, it is for the same reason that I myself do not unfollow them, and stalk them obsessively. There is something addictive about seeing what they are up to, and learning more about them, one Instagram picture at a time!

Of course, it is not only these youngsters who have risen to fame for seemingly no reason other than the fact that people love to see them performing day to day activities. Teenagers like Jacob Satorious (8.4mn followers) and Baby Ariel (7mn followers) have gained huge fan base just by making 15-second lip sync videos on Musical.ly, a very famous app. Of course, Jacob Satorious has released a few songs, but almost everyone agrees that he should just stick to lip-syncing. Or dig a hole in the ground and live there. Whichever works!

The sad thing is, there are so many talented singers and dancers out there, yet it is kids like Jacob Satorious who are making it big. In today’s Instagram world, it is the not-yet-born babies and posing four-year-olds who are actually becoming big. And for what? What makes these kids so special? Why do I spend so much time stalking them? And if a baby who is not even alive has thousands of followers, what next?

Hmmm. We will just have to wait and see how these kids actually turn out. And whether they will continue to lead the lives of fame their parents have mapped out for them. 

Anyway, bye for now. I have to go and stalk some kids!