On WhatsApp, the parallel world of teens who have become influencers without their parents knowing.
French Teens Find Unexpected Social Media Haven on WhatsApp
Edwige admits she’s not very tech-savvy. Despite this, the 44-year-old mother is trying to keep an eye on her 14-year-old daughter, Pénélope, and her iPhone. Recently, she even disabled the home internet subscription to ensure the teenager couldn’t secretly access the Wi-Fi.
A few weeks ago, she was shocked when Pénélope revealed her vibrant online life with “Conseils pour filles 💕” (Advice for Girls 💕). On this channel, her daughter posts several times a day and has built a large community of middle and high school students. She now has over 50,000 followers. However, what surprised Edwige most wasn’t that Pénélope had secretly become an influencer. It was that it wasn’t happening on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, but on an unexpected platform: WhatsApp.
Like Pénélope, many French teenagers have, more or less discreetly, taken refuge in the corners of Meta’s messaging service, behind the “Updates” tab. This is where “channels” like “Conseils pour filles 💕” are found: channels inspired by those on Telegram, where only administrators can post texts, images, or videos, and where subscribers can only react with emojis and answer poll questions.
Launched in France in September 2023, the feature was initially only available to celebrities, businesses, or media outlets. WhatsApp then opened it to the general public… and has clearly convinced many young French people to join.
The New Skyblogs
Enjoyed this post by Thibault Helle? Subscribe for more insights and updates straight from the source.
