Children and young people in front of the devices: new communication phenomena and new product creators

Abstract

Content creators across platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok are increasingly younger. Children and adolescents are the protagonists of this phenomenon both in content creation and consumption. Traditional media have been relegated to a secondary role, opening the door to platforms to exchange content (videos, images). In such platforms, young creators generate messages to their peers using their same language, codes, preferences, and taste. This, in turn, sparks interest in commercial brands to be present in this digital realm. Such are the questions that this special issue investigates. Its articles remind us of the old ghosts of media literacy, showing us the main features of the content created by children as influencers, the potential reasons some influencers manage to connect with their follower base, or the critical audience attitude towards advertising targeting minors. Lastly, this special issue covers the fan phenomenon and its transposition from fiction television to social networks.