The Digital exploitation of children
Before Liam disappeared from their channel, not only were his medical issues presented to the world by his parents, but Liam was also assigned a bedroom with one of their youngest children. Despite the age gap, the children were portrayed as best friends who enjoyed playing with LEGO. A few months ago, I think when Liam turned 18, the parents posted some pictures of themselves, their oldest son, and Liam spending time together. Currently, most of their content on Instagram is based on their youngest sons ( with one of the two being disabled), who are the only minors in the house at this point and the only ones who cannot consent to be filmed, especially the disabled child who cannot speak. Because the family is famous, Liam's reputation might be permanently damaged because of the public attention. We don't know how serious Liam's mental illness is; the only thing we know is that the parents have failed to protect their children and are continuing to do it with their minor sons, especially. Internet exposure has always caused some damage, but children, more than anybody else, cannot defend themselves. Currently, the parents have canceled videos with Liam; it may be to defend their son or to distance themselves from him, but we don't know. Nevertheless, the damage has already been done. I want to comment also about the person who presented themselves as the family's friend: what strikes me most is that this person told that Liam has a lot of issues, but he doesn't want to change: as a person who experienced a partner with schizophrenia in the past, I might say that sometimes mental illness is very tough and is not a choice...also we don't know if Liam's behavior is a consequence of the upbringing method of his parents as well...we really don't know. The only thing we know is that exploiting your children on YouTube is not safe, and Ruby Franke is an example of how abusive and destructive YouTube parents can be. Also, I see a difference in the way the Millers treat their biological children and the adopted ones: we know all the medical issues of the adopted ones, and they remind them every five seconds that they were adopted, while their biological children are only celebrated and presented as achievers; the oldest son is now important only because he became a military: I am also always surprised how fundies love military careers even though soldiers may go to war, risk their lives or kill others.Those are just my two cents on them...