Family influencers make the lifestyle look good. But kids pay the price, new book says

Review Book Reviews Family influencers make the lifestyle look good. But kids pay the price, new book says April 22, 202610:46 AM ET By  Ilana Masad Gallery Books On April 2, Aubree Jones, a Mormon mom influencer with more than 4 million social media subscribers, posted a video in which she and her husband, Josh Jones, and their seven children stand together in the hallway of their house. Everyone is grinning. White text above them reads "We have an announcement… We're expecting…" Josh lifts their little white dog into the air from where she was hidden behind the gaggle of humans; she kicks a little, clearly not thrilled at being airborne. "Puppies!!!" the final caption reads. The short video may seem innocuous but, like so much family influencer content, it's a rich text once you begin to dig into it. Until the reveal, for instance, the older kids hold their awkward poses, smiles rigid, while only the toddler at the bottom right seems free to look bored and distracted. What are they all thinking? What were they doing before being called in to help their parents earn a living by shooting the video? Then there's the pregnancy announcement itself, which — along with birth, newborn, and baby news — is some of the most successful content you can post as a family influencer. Sure, it's a pregnant dog, but you don't know that until your view has already been captured and counted. Sponsor Message Culture Tradwife life isn't as good as it looks on TikTok — just ask former tradwives I learned about Jones and her family — specifically, about the sponcon she made preparing a "period kit" for her oldest daughter — in Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online by Fortesa Latifi. I've been following Latifi's journalism for years in The Cut, Rolling Stone, the Washington Post, and elsewhere, and have been fascinated by her coverage of the influencer sphere in particular. I devoured this book, her first, which is a must-read for anyone curious...