Presidential children in the media: Uncontrolled fame and spotlight should not mean higher standards

BY RYAN MERARD

When in a position as public as that of the U.S. President, loads of popularity is inevitably gained and this popularity is surely passed around the family, including children and even grandchildren. 

In fact, President-Elect Joe Biden’s grandchildren have been expanding their popularity on the social media platform TikTok over the past months, with Natalie Biden having over 1 million followers. Robert and Maisey Biden are also growing their followings, particularly through their dance videos to popular music and audios.

While being related to a prominent figure causes a rush into fame, this status also often generates unsavory perspectives on one’s life. Sasha Obama, daughter of former U.S. President Barack Obama, had recently faced criticism for some of her posts on social media. This specifically spurred on TikTok, where she would make videos and lip-sync to music that would sometimes have expletive language. She faced large amounts of criticism for her behavior on social media as critics deemed her videos to be inappropriate. Despite her behavior having zero correlation to her father, most of the negative comments she faced connect to her being the daughter of a former President.

Despite her behavior having zero correlation to her father, most of the negative comments she faced connect to her being the daughter of a former President.

Sasha’s lip-syncing video to Moneybagg Yo’s “Said Sum” remix spurred two-fold emotions. On one hand, it seems that she can’t “live her best life” because her private life keeps coming up for reactions on the internet. On the other hand, many were also happy to see the young woman have fun and enjoy regular 19-year-old activities. Even with all of the support she received, a teenager rapping lyrics to a song that happened to have a curse word should not even be gaining any type of negative commentary or making the types of headlines the way that it did. 

Presidents and other politicians hold positions that require some type of character, and they can even pose as role models for many individuals throughout the nation. The virtues and leadership qualities that are needed to stay in these positions should strictly be needed from the politicians themselves, not their family. One person should not lift the standards on how their family should act in the public eye. 

It is known that children of presidents and celebrities are born into the limelight, and it is something they have to deal with as they grow up. Everyday activities get turned into headlines, which can sometimes spark the controversy that these children have to face. Even Malia Obama dancing at a music festival somehow managed to become news and ended up on multiple blogs.

Everyday activities get turned into headlines, which can sometimes spark the controversy that these children have to face.

In a society where social media is extremely prevalent among adolescents, a child should not have to worry about any negative reactions that may come from doing normal activities, especially when they would not receive these reactions if they were not children of a public figure. 

Some may argue that children with parents that are highly looked upon by society should reserve themselves because they are already in the spotlight and have more public eyes watching them. However, the president’s children or any kids of famous parents should not be expected to act a different way in public or social media because of something they were not able to control. A parent’s choices, ambitions or political positions shouldn’t weigh down on their children’s shoulders and they should not feel any type of restriction from posting or taking part in any social media activities.

A child does not have to live their life in representation of their elders, and if their acts are not hurting themselves or others, they should be entitled to act however they want without their actions always having to relate back to the characters of their parents.

Photo courtesy of Hola!