How Vulnerable Kids Became Clickbait

How Vulnerable Kids Became Clickbait

Author: Jo Piazza March 3, 2026 Duration: 45:34
Content featuring sick, sad, or injured children usually performs best online. Let that sink in. That insane fact is just one of the unsettling realities journalist Fortesa Latifi uncovered while reporting her new book, Like, Follow, Subscribe, a deep dive into the world of kid influencers and the children growing up as brands. In this episode of Under the Influence, Latifi explores why vulnerable childhood moments go viral, what happens to parent-child intimacy when a phone is always present, and how some kids say they stopped confiding in their parents because private experiences were turned into content. The conversation also examines the murky legal landscape around child influencer profits, the rise and reinvention of former kid star Piper Rockelle, and the growing fear around AI and deepfakes manipulating children’s images online. Like, Follow, Subscribe is available wherever books are sold. Join our newsletter community here. ORDER The Parisian Heist here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Under the Influence with Jo Piazza, journalist and mother Jo Piazza pulls back the curtain on the multi-billion dollar world of social media influence. This isn't just another show about viral trends; it's a critical exploration of the aspirational marketing that haunts our feeds, where perfectly posed lives in spotless homes mask a complex economy. Jo examines how this ecosystem fundamentally reshapes our culture, our families, and our personal sense of self, especially for parents and kids navigating this curated reality. Each episode of this podcast digs into the forces that brought us here, asking what it means to live, parent, and consume under this constant, monetized influence. You'll hear specific stories and analysis that connect the dots between the content we scroll past and the larger societal machinery at work. The conversation naturally extends beyond the screen to question the real-world impact on our journals, our relationships, and our understanding of value. Under the Influence with Jo Piazza provides the context often missing from the comments section, offering a necessary perspective for anyone who has ever scrolled and wondered about the true cost of that airbrushed perfection.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza
Podcast Episodes
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Ask Jo anything this week. We've got a grab bag of audience questions and completely unfiltered responses to things like: What’s the biggest lie women are being sold right now? Can you actually “have it all”? How do you…
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Duration: 44:35
A third of Gen Z men think wives should obey their husbands. This generation of young men, ages 14 to 29, is getting more conservative by the day. How? Why? And can we reverse it? To figure it out, we talk with Gen Z str…
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Duration: 46:57
How do you make a move when you have no idea what comes next? Jen Shahade has spent her life inside the world of chess as a two-time U.S. women’s chess champion and the author of many books about chess including her late…
The False Choice Between Tradwife and Girlboss [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:36
Why have women been told the only choices are girlboss or tradwife, lean in or opt out, burnout or retreat? We're chatting with author and coach Megan Hellerer about why that binary is so false and so seductive, especial…