For an ethics in audiovisual productions in cyberculture: Childhood in viral videos

Abstract

The purpose of this text is to question images of children that circulate in online videos, which are spreading on the dizzying scale conceptualized as viral. What childhood images circulate online? What makes the child become a viral image? What alterity guides the relationship between the children who are filmed and those filming them? What ethics marks the production and circulation of such videos? To address these issues, we bring a discussion about viral videos that circulate in networks, and critically analyze two of such videos, seeking elements for the construction of a responsible action.