“When I Grow Up,I Want to Be a Vlogger”: Child Influencers in the Philippines

Abstract

Children have become more commonplace on Filipino social media, where they often achieve virality, become memes, and later be invited on television. This article aims to provide an overview of the phenomenon of child influencers in the Philippines, a relatively young nation, given that one out of three Filipinos is aged 15 and below. I present two contexts in understanding child influencers: First, children are part of the larger entertainment industry; and second, family values are essential within Philippine society. Using a case study approach, I present two examples of child influencers who transitioned from being a “meme persona” to a celebrity and content creator, as well as child influencers who are part of “family influencer” units. I conclude this article by offering insights into future research on child influencers in the Filipino context.

Introduction

If you ask a child in the Philippines what they want to be when they grow up, they will probably say they want to be a “vlogger” or “content creator,” or whatever the currently trending term is. On Facebook, the most used social media platform in the country, a cursory review of Facebook reels shows that Filipino digital creators upload vlogs of their everyday lives, akin to what TikTok influencers do in the hopes of “going viral” (c.f. Abidin, 2020; Kemp, 2025). These digital creators are a combination of aspiring and established content creators who upload Facebook Reels hoping to gain views. These Facebook Reels often include children doing either everyday activities such as chores and homework or being cute on vlogs.

Influencers have become so ubiquitous on Filipino social media that it has become commonplace to see Facebook users uploading Facebook Reels to accumulate views as aspirational content creators (West, 2025). According to the 2020 Census of the Philippine Statistics Authority (2022), the Philippines is considered a young nation with a median age of 25.3 years old, with those aged 15 years old and below numbering over 33 million or 30.7% out of a total population of 107 million. In short, one out of three Filipinos is considered a young person. The Philippines is also one of the countries whose citizens spend the most time on social media, at an average of 3 hr and 32 min a day, and a total internet use time of 8 hr and 52 min daily (Kemp, 2025). In fact, the Philippines has the highest percentage of users worldwide who follow influencers on social media, with 44.9% of users aged 16 and above following influencers on different platforms (Kemp, 2025). These statistics are just a glimpse of how influencers are integrated into Philippine society, but how do child influencers enter the picture?

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the phenomenon of child influencers in the Philippines and provide two backgrounds needed in studying child influencers. The first focuses on how children are part of the Philippine entertainment industry, and the second focuses on the context of Filipino family values. Using a case study approach, I will also demonstrate how child influencers are embedded within Philippine digital cultures by providing case studies of child influencers (Yin, 2018). As I will argue below, these case studies are not exhaustive but aim to serve as a starting point for future studies. I conclude this article by offering insights on how the phenomenon of child influencers can be further studied in the context of the Philippines.

Children in the Philippine entertainment industry

The first context is that children have been prominent in the Philippine entertainment industry since the 1970s (Sanchez, 2024). In 2024 alone, child actors have been featured in various films and teleserye or Filipino TV soap operas and have won awards for their acting (Dela Cruz, 2024; Presillas, 2024). Cultural critic Louie Jon Sanchez (2024) laid out over seven decades of history of teleserye, from the establishment of tradition and convention of radio teleserye in the 1930s, to the diverse permutations of teleserye in the 2010s. These teleserye and films have produced child actors over the decades, which help springboard their careers, like Vilma Santos who played the titular role of “Trudis” in the film Trudis Liit [“Little Trudis”] at age 9 in the 1960s (Iglesias, 2024). She became a staple in films and teleserye and has been so well-loved by the public that she was successfully elected into various government positions since running for Mayor in 1998. There are also TV shows dedicated to child actors and targeted toward child audiences like Goin’ Bulilit [“Going Little”], the first Filipino sketch show that features only children and pre-teens or “tweens” (aged 9–12 years) (ABS-CBN, 2024). Alumni of this sketch show have become popular celebrities in the entertainment industry and also influencers on various social media platforms. A prominent example is Kristel Fulgar, was a cast member at ages 10–12 years from 2005 to 2007, and has continued into adulthood as a content creator with 2.8 million YouTube subscribers.

In the advertising industry, children are also hired to endorse products in commercials promoting items such as vitamins, food, and medicine, where they are seen taking or using the product (Borazon et al., 2024). An example is a milk brand that used “gifted” children—indicated by a showcase of their talents like playing an instrument—in the commercials, demonstrating how parents insist that their children drink the milk and subsequently support them in their craft (Puache, 2024). Children are also featured in reality shows and contests like the “Little Miss Philippines” segment in the noontime variety show Eat Bulaga [“Eat Surprise”]. Little Miss Philippines is a child beauty pageant first held in 1984 and has had various iterations over the years up till 2019. In the segment, young girls aged 6 years old and below participate in a beauty pageant—assisted by family members—by presenting their talents during the performance portion, and their wit, cuteness, and love for their families during the interview portion (Eusebio, 2019). For example, Ryzza Mae Dizon, who won the competition in 2012 at age 6, has since become one of Eat Bulaga’s hosts. She also engages in content creation where she has, at the time of writing, over 4 million Facebook followers and 1.9 million TikTok followers, posting updates of her TV hosting and other lifestyle content.

Filipino family values

The second context is the importance of family values in the Philippines. All the films, teleserye, and ads mentioned above usually demonstrate the importance of the family in Philippine society. The Filipino family is characterized by strong family ties (Gregorio et al., 2023; Medina, 2015). Filipino families are usually child-centered given that children are sources of joy and support; furthermore, in a nuclear household set-up, Filipino families tend to value both the young and old (Abalos, 2023). Scholars have examined the different factors that affect Filipino families, such as labor migration and the children left behind (Asis & Ruiz-Marave, 2013; Dominguez & Hall, 2022), and teenage pregnancy (Gregorio, 2018), among others. In response to these phenomena, Filipino families tend to exhibit resilience and adapt to those changes (Gregorio et al., 2023). This resilience and strong bonds within Filipino families are an important background in examining child influencers, as it contextualizes how these children and parents help each other in content creation.

Case studies

The case studies below provide an overview of how children’s cuteness, wit, and talent are used in content creation as a reflection of the Philippine entertainment industry and celebrity culture in the country. The cases also show how child influencers are incorporated within family influencers as a reflection of the strong family ties. While I use a case study approach to highlight specific examples (Yin, 2018), I do not claim any generalizability but instead aim to start the conversation on examining Filipino child influencers. I used purposive sampling and chose child influencers who are mentioned in news articles or featured on national television to highlight that these children (aged 13 and below) are considered public figures (Palinkas et al., 2015). I categorize these child influencers into two cases: (a) from meme personae to celebrities and creators and (b) as part of family influencers. Per the ethical parameters of the study, I did not include any images of child influencers but rather practiced “ethical fabrication” by narrating and describing the videos (Markham, 2012).

From meme personae to celebrities and creators

The first case focuses on child influencers who have transitioned from being meme personae to becoming celebrities and creators. Digital anthropologist Crystal Abidin (2018) defined “meme personae” as the faces of memes who extend their fame by capitalizing on the narrative of the meme. Abidin (2018) also coined the term “spotted and groomed investments” to describe how users of organically viral social media are “groomed” by television shows as traditional celebrities. In the Philippines, I argue that it is not always the case that child influencers are “spotted and groomed investments,” but rather, it is the families who aim to make their child popular through social media virality. In other words, the families want their child to be viral on social media to secure an appearance on television, which subsequently facilitates the establishment of the child’s fame as both a traditional celebrity and an influencer.

An example is Kulot who featured in a viral video on Facebook that accumulated over 17 million views, showing how she “fetched” her father home after day-drinking with friends by going up a hill to go to their drinking spot (Santos, 2022). The video’s virality was in part because Kulot sounded like an adult for her age—she was 7 years old at that time—as she appeared to be “scolding” her father for drinking. Shortly after the video went viral, Kulot was invited to feature in two noontime variety shows: Eat Bulaga in 2022 and It’s Showtime in 2023, where she later became a recurring cast member and host of the latter alongside other children who similarly started out as meme personae (ABS-CBN, 2024). At the time of writing, her Facebook page Ako si kulot [“I am Kulot”] has 2.9 million followers and consists of daily vlogs, usually featuring her playing with other child and adult hosts behind-the-scenes of the TV set, whether inside the studio and or in the dressing rooms. Given the continued addition of further child meme personae as cast members and hosts on the show, it is likely that more children who are viral on social media will be invited to transit to the mainstream entertainment industry through television show and film appearances.

As part of family influencers

The second case focuses on child influencers who are part of the more conventional unit of family influencers, and whose contents are more curated compared to solo child influencers. Abidin (2017) argued that family influencers deploy “calibrated amateurism” or the practice where actors inside attention economies—in this case influencers—conduct contrived authenticity to produce a “raw aesthetic” and appear as amateurs. Within family influencer units, calibrated amateurism is observed in how parents point their cameras to their children to portray that their child has agency over in the video (Abidin, 2017). Furthermore, family influencers often use behind-the-scenes content to showcase more amateur content to their viewers (Abidin, 2017). The Philippines also has its share of family influencers, which I argue is driven not only by global influencer trends but also because of the strong family ties within Philippine society (Gregorio et al., 2023). Filipino Family influencers often showcase their children doing chores, singing and dancing, and sometimes allow them to record the voiceover in their vlogs. They also showcase love and care for each other through dining together, going to church together, and children openly expressing that they love their parents.

An example of a mommy and daughter influencer unit is Mommy Donna and her daughter 7-year-old Scarlett Heize. At the time of writing, Mommy Donna has over 3.2 million followers on TikTok and their Facebook page “ScarlettHeize” has 581,000 followers. Their pages consist of life updates and affiliate videos where Mommy Donna talks about products—mostly home products and school supplies—and invites viewers to buy the products she promotes on TikTok (Wang, 2023). In some videos, their pages also show Scarlett Heize alone in some videos, following dance choreographies or lip-syncing trending TikTok audios. Calibrated amateurism is observed in videos where Mommy Donna records herself using the front camera of her phone, and the vlogs appear to be unrehearsed and unedited due to the presence of some stuttering and some mistakes in the dance choreographies. As an example of showcasing family values, Mother Donna records herself teary-eyed while looking at old pictures of her pregnancy, baby pictures of Scarlett Heize, and other family pictures. The video used a point-of-view or POV text on the screen, noting that she cried while editing that album because their family has come a long way, and that she makes a promise to God that they will work harder. Filipino family influencer units are then likely to deploy family values—primarily channeled through the vehicle of child influencers—to evoke emotions from audiences, which will help them gain engagement.

Conclusion

This article has presented a glimpse into the phenomenon of child influencers in the Philippines. I have provided two contexts that inform and influence child influencers: The long-standing presence of children in the Philippine entertainment industry and the family values and strong family ties in Philippine society. I have presented two cases of child influencers: one had the opportunity to become both a content creator and traditional celebrity, while the other hails from a more conventional family influencer unit where they heavily feature their child in their content. Given the ubiquity of social media and influencers in the Philippines, Filipino child influencers may appear to be mundane as people see them on their social media feed, witness them become viral, and eventually watch them on television. Nevertheless, scholars must recognize and underscore the historical and cross-industry local context when investigating Filipino child influencers.