While “baby fever” a.k.a. the longing for a child, is not a new phenomenon, an increasing number of youths in their late teens and early twenties are actively striving to create mini versions of themselves. Perhaps not for reasons we are traditionally familiar with, and despite how infectiously adorable babies are, young children seem to be doing alarmingly well in the world of social media – making them ideal bait for likes, follows and subscribes – which in this day and age, can make you a lot of money.

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Take DJ Khaled’s son for example. With a birth documented on Snapchat, and over 1.8M Instagram followers by the time he was three, Asahd Khaled is just one of many instances children have proven more desirable than adults. In fact, in 2018, the highest-paid YouTube star was a seven-year-old who reviewed toys and had garnered at least $22M in a year.

Without having to look too far at the grandiosity of celebrity children, viral Twitter and Instagram posts happen to be evidence in itself of the subconscious commodification of children. Dressed to the nines in the latest designer brands and trends, with hair styled professionally, softly blushed cheeks and the lighting just perfect; the prevalence of these images over the past few years have sparked an immense online debate on everything from parenthood, to the dangers of social media, and the ingrained superficial morals/wellbeing/priorities of our next generation.

I say all this as a reminder to maintain balance and be responsible to the subconscious habits that we pass down to those younger than us. Besides, looking good has never been bad. As a matter of fact, dressing up pretty and have my photo taken without needing to ask for it, was probably the best part of childhood, second only to sweating buckets in the playground and playing hide-and-go-seek across residential buildings.