Having worked in online content creation for the past few years, I'm always shocked by the large number of children, and even babies, doing the same job I do. So many kids are not only supervised but encouraged by their parents to produce online content and many have been able to develop lucrative careers and enormous fanbases vlogging, modelling and doing everything influencers do, just at a much, much younger and more vulnerable age.

I am an adult who can, for the most part, understand the ramifications of what it means to post on the internet, and comprehend the permanence of a digital footprint. I know that once I post something online there will always be a record of it somewhere, even if I choose to delete it, and I am able to act with this responsibility in mind. I’m also able to fully consent to every piece of content I produce, in a way that very young children cannot.

We can see just how seriously child safety is taken when viewing it through the context of professional child actors, who are protected by numerous laws and labour restrictions. Online content creation is not regulated in the same way as yet, which leaves an incalculable number of children vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Children are woefully unprepared for the vast and unpredictable nature of the internet, which can be both a wonderful place but, at times, absolutely heinous.

It often seems it's never too early in a child’s life for their parents to include them in monetisable content. Just this week, one influencer went viral for uploading both a birthing vlog, and a follow-up video five hours postpartum. There is no other career in which it would be appropriate to expect a person to clock in during labour or immediately after, and yet due to the nature of online algorithms and the lure of vitality, some people may feel compelled to share as much of their life as possible, including their child.

There is of course an argument to be made for the destigmatisation of issues relating to pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and other aspects of parenting through relatable and inclusive online content. These are valid topics and should be things we are able to discuss and celebrate. However, most of the time, sharing the face, body and identifying characteristics of the child is not necessary to prompt and participate in these discussions.

Some people have even made social media accounts for their children prior to their birth, documenting in extreme detail the development of the foetus in utero from a first person perspective. It seems dystopian, almost like something out of Black Mirror, to have a presence on social media prior to your birth, but it is unfortunately an extremely lucrative career path for families to exploit every stage of their child's development.

These videos of ostensibly natural and intimate moments between parents and children are often carefully orchestrated, lit and shot in optimised detail, and many of the videos and photos being posted are either paid and scripted ads, or include product placement. Children too young to legally open a bank account are earning millions, and there is currently only one state in the US that makes it compulsory to share those profits with the child whose “likeness, name or photograph” appears in monetised online content.

The bill also makes it clear that once a child reaches the age of majority, any content they do not wish to be kept online should be removed, if not by the person who posted it, by the platform on which it is hosted. The impact that constant exposure to the internet and becoming aware that potentially millions of people have had a look at intimate and vulnerable moments of your childhood cannot be understated, and many former and current “kidfluencers” have spoken out about their experiences, and the harmful role that content creation as a child has had upon their lives, and their development.

One of the most insidious aspects of child exploitation online is those filming tantrums by their toddlers and young children to "educate" other parents on how to handle these situations. While it may seem like a valuable resource to learn how to gently take care of a child in distress, there is no need to show the child in their most vulnerable moments in order to explain the techniques, strategies and coping mechanisms.

Some of the children featured are disabled, many are actually having meltdowns due to overstimulation, and without the audience educated on the complexity and nuance of each individual situation, the risk is that the child is exposed to potentially millions of people bearing witness to moments which they will never be able to erase from the internet.

Something that should give anyone posting footage of children pause: campaigners report that videos and images of children and even babies eating, dancing, bathing or being changed are consistently the most shared and saved images, which is horrific when you consider that a child's most private moments are being broadcast to an unvetted audience, and that the Child Crime Prevention and Safety Centre reports that there are more than 500,000 active child predators online every day.

There have even been reported instances of parents setting up paid subscriptions, in which one unlockable tier included photos of their children. Many parents, carers and anyone else creating content which includes a child may have good intentions, but none of us can control the intentions of the audience to whom they are presenting the content. These children have to go out into the world, to school, and later work, with footage of them available for the whole world to see through their entire lives, of which they had no control, and which they have no ability to remove permanently.

Children trust the adults in their lives implicitly, they have no other choice. They trust us to keep them safe, and to not exploit their pain, their joy and their vulnerable moments for views, likes and money. If you have a child and you want to make content which includes them, ask yourself if any potential damage is worth the possible gain, and if there are any ways you can mitigate harm.

If you're looking to reduce the risk, you might want to consider a private account where you can control who views the content you post, and always ensure that you keep identifying information, and vulnerable moments offline. Most people won't set out to be exploitative, but posting children publicly online can expose them to those who do not share your pure intentions.

Online safety starts at home, and teaching children the dangers of the internet is essential to ensure they are kept as safe and protected as possible.