The new favorite profile looks friendly, responds to comments and constantly shares new photos from everyday life. For many children, the account looks like other influencers on Instagram or TikTok. But some profiles are not real people at all. More and more influencerson social media are created using artificial intelligence.
AI influencers are invented figures on social media. Images, videos, voices and texts are created or edited with the help of AI. Companies or agencies are usually behind the profiles. The figures present themselves as fashion influencers, gamers, musicians or lifestyle stars and talk about their supposed everyday lives.
Lil Miquela from the USA is particularly well known. The virtual influencer publishes fashion photos, music and political messages and has millions of followers. The German AI character Noonoouri also works with major fashion brands and publicly campaigns for sustainable fashion.
Today, AI can be used to create images, videos or texts for social media very quickly. Nevertheless, these figures do not act independently. Content, texts and collaborations are planned and controlled by humans. Such figures are attractive for companies because they can fully control the content. Many of these figures are designed in such a way that they attract a lot of attention on social media.
Right-wing populist and extremist groups also use AI influencers. The profiles often show young, attractive people. They combine harmless lifestyle content with radical or discriminatory messages; for example, they show German flags, classic family pictures or make statements against migration. Other accounts invent their own realities and show bizarre images of the future. In this way, right-wing world views are intended to appear more modern and gradually spread.
There are also projects with positive goals. Some virtual characters are intended to draw attention to social issues or show what is creatively possible with AI. The Itskamisworld account, for example, was developed to make people with Down’s syndrome more visible. Nevertheless, it remains important to classify content carefully and to be able to recognize advertising.
Children and young people use social media to switch off, share and belong. Influencers often play an important role in this. Virtual influencers often appear particularly perfect and professional, react quickly to trends and seem to be constantly available. This is precisely what makes them interesting for many young users.
Younger children in particular often do not question who is behind a profile. If an account comments regularly, talks about everyday life and responds to messages in a friendly manner, this quickly creates a feeling of closeness.
Although many young people are more likely to notice that content has been artificially created, they are under greater pressure from beauty ideals and comparisons on social media. High follower numbers, likes and positive comments reinforce the impression that the figure is popular and credible.
For some users, it is not even important whether a character is real. What matters most is whether the content is entertaining, creative or exciting.
What is particularly difficult is that AI influencers are often almost indistinguishable from real people.
Possible problems:
In addition, AI content is often not clearly labeled. It is often unclear to users whether images, videos or figures have been created artificially.
Accompany your child when using social media and take an interest in which profiles they follow. Take a look at profiles together and talk about how content is created on social media. Many AI-generated images appear perfect or particularly professional at first glance. However, some content shows small anomalies:
Children don’t have to recognize every AI fake immediately. It’s more important not to immediately believe everything that looks real on social media.
Also talk about the fact that many influencers earn money with their content. Virtual figures often seem like good friends or give seemingly honest recommendations. However, advertising and companies are often behind this.
Questions such as:
Younger children in particular can quickly mistake virtual characters for real friends. It is important that children can come to their parents openly with questions or uncertainties.
