A mom on TikTok is warning parents this week of a new way the platform is being used to exploit our children, and most parents aren’t even aware it exists.
TikTok user @hashtagfacts took to the platform Sunday with a stark warning for parents that cannot be ignored.
“If your children are on social media and you haven’t heard the story about what’s going on with Wren, you need to listen up,” she starts her clip.
@hashtagfacts #fyp #wren #protectourkids #protectthekids #itsnotokay #nottoday #nottodaysatan ♬ original sound – o v e r . I t
Who is Wren Eleanor?
The TikTok user whose first name is Jess goes on to explain that there’s a 3-year-old toddler named Wren Eleanor who has a whopping 17.3 million followers on TikTok thanks to videos her mom posts of her on the platform.
In recent weeks, Wren’s mom Jaqueline has come under fire for posting inappropriate content of the little girl that is catered to adult viewers. As is the case with most influencers on social media, the excessive and arguably dangerous posting of her daughter is helping Jacqueline rake in a lot of money.
Jess’ video is less about Wren’s mom and her blatant exploitation of her toddler, and more about what parents NEED to know if your children have any form of a virtual presence on social media–whether that be them posting, or YOU.
“What moms are noticing is how many times these videos of Wren are being saved,” Jess says, taking viewers through a series of Wren’s videos and revealing how many times those videos have been saved.
“This one, of a toddler in a crop top has been saved 45 thousand times,” she continues. “Wren, eating a hot dog at a fair, 375 thousand times.”
In addition to what feels like intentional exploitation of a child (what toddler needs to be documented in a crop top or eating a hot dog?) People on TikTok began noticing vulgar comments that men were leaving on these videos, and let’s just say, they’re not having it.
People across social media have inundated Reddit and Twitter with pleas to have the toddler’s account flagged for her own safety.
“Stop supporting TikTok creators that exploit their children,” one Twitter user wrote. “This Wren Eleanor situation is scary and her mom refuses to do anything about it. If you don’t know about it look it up on TikTok or even here and stop posting your own kids all over the internet while you’re at it.”
“Something tells me I don’t want to actually Google Wren Eleanor,” political strategist Seth Weathers added.
While many have criticized Jaqueline’s use of TikTok, Jess took the situation as an opportunity to evaluate her own activity on social media, and encourages others to do the same for the safety of their children.
She reflects on a video she posted of her own daughter a while back doing the popular “3, 2, 1, Bang” challenge on TikTok. And while Jess says her daughter doesn’t have a TikTok precisely because of the influx of disgusting people who exist on there, it never dawned on her that posting content of her own daughter may unintentionally exploiting her to the wrong kind of people.
Sure enough, Jess noticed a comment on the video of her daughter, which she’s now taken down, that read, “Your daughter is kind of cute, not gonna lie.”
“And then I realized the video of my daughter had been saved way too many times,” Jess says.
The realization made her do a deep dive on her daughter’s Instagram page, which is private, only to find accounts like “Fun Testicles” following her 12-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
“The issue with all of the saves and follows, is that people are watching your children and doing disgusting things.”
Through a deep sigh, Jess ends her video by saying, “protect your kids.”
The clip has been viewed over 6.5 million times in the last three days with thousands flocking to the comments with praise.
“This is the 1st informative, concise video I have seen about this topic that wasn’t about the creator talking airtime. Thank you,” one wrote.
“Having worked in child protection for 15 yrs I’m constantly having to remind parents NOT to post photos no matter how innocent,” another one shared.
“Now I notice more saves on kids videos than any other content,” one commenter wrote.
