University of Tehran on behalf of the "Cyberspace Research Policy Center" and the "UNESCO Chair on Cyberspace and Culture: Dual Spacization of the World" Journal of Cyberspace Studies 2588-5499 10 2 2026 07 01 Child's digital communications: A study of the kidfluencer phenomenon in cyberspace, focusing on the YouTube platform and the unboxing genre 347 369 105996 10.22059/jcss.2026.408825.1220 EN Saeid Reza Ameli Professor of Communications and Global Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. Azam Ravadrad Department of Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. Abdollah Bicharanlou Department of Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. Milad Mousavi Haghshenas Department of Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. Journal Article 2025 12 26 <strong>Background:</strong> Background: Four of the top ten subscribed YouTube channels feature child-centric content, with three belonging to kidfluencers whose videos are dubbed in fourteen languages. By mid-2025, these four channels collectively garnered 608 million subscribers, demonstrating the phenomenon's significance in the digital sphere.<br /><strong>Aims: </strong>This article utilizes the Dual-Spacization of the World paradigm and a qualitative approach (combining participatory observation and documentary analysis focused on YouTube and the popular unboxing genre) to describe the kidfluencer phenomenon, its links to digital commerce and economy, and its cultural consequences on child development and socialization.<br /><strong>Methodology: </strong>The second part offers a local interpretation of this global trend by analyzing thirteen semi-structured interviews with children and adolescents (aged six to fourteen).<br /><strong>Findings: </strong>The analysis confirmed the interviewees' positive alignment with kidfluencing through four key themes: "Spectacular Consumption and the Spectacularization of Consumption", "Perceiving Kidfluencers as Independent and Validating Them", "Expert Users, Potential Producers" and "Kidfluencing: A Path to Fame, a Shortcut to Wealth".<br /><strong>Conclusion:</strong> The study’s findings recommend that, to maximize opportunities, supportive legislation and regulatory bodies should actively back children’s agency and capabilities in digital environments, while simultaneously promoting the development of spatial literacy and enhancement of children’s digital literacy through national and global programs and policies. https://jcss.ut.ac.ir/article_105996_49998cb23fa77b1f92181c60b210f5d3.pdf