Celebrity kids as young as four are expected to maintain social media presences, well before they can read, write, or spell. But are there long-term consequences?
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons — the child actor known for playing Lily, the adoptive daughter of Cam and Mitchell on ABC's Modern Family — has nearly 16,000 followers on Twitter. But when I call her mom Amy Anderson to talk about Aubrey's account, it quickly becomes clear that the four-year-old has no idea it even exists. "Do you know what Twitter is?" I hear Anderson ask her daughter. "You know sometimes we answer questions for people on the computer."
For now, Aubrey seems far more concerned with the location of her Hello Kitty backpack within the house than with answering her mom's questions. "Okay, if you can't be quiet you need to go upstairs," Anderson warns. "As soon as I'm done, we'll go outside and ride our bikes."
A photo of mother and daughter bike riding outside their Los Angeles house, or on the set of Modern Family, are the kinds of things Anderson tweets from her daughter's account, @AubreyLily. She'll also frequently field questions about Aubrey's favorite colors and foods. Though the account's description makes clear that the tweets are typed out by Aubrey's Mom, they're all written in first person.
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons as Lily on Modern Family.
Child stars have long dealt with excess pressure and overexposure, which can end up being a burden on both the child and the family. Today, they have another thing to worry about – maintaining a coherent social media presence, often before the kids can even spell.
Aubrey's Twitter seems like the project of a highly ambitious Stage Mom, eager to share anything and everything and grow her daughter's fame. But Anderson says it grew out of necessity, not out of self-promotion. Anderson herself is a stand-up comedian, and she found fans tweeting at her with questions for Aubrey. "My Twitter started getting flooded with inquiries for her. And I'm a comedian, so I sometimes tweet some dicey things or make snarky comments. They're just not appropriate for her fans. She's four."
For Anderson, keeping up with the feed and responding to fan questions has become a tempting addition. "I'm addicted to my iPhone so it's hard not to look at it sometimes," she says.
While Anderson created Aubrey's Twitter to have a feed distinct from her own, other moms of celebrity kids have the opposite problem.
