There is a noticeable increase in kids using guns online, some identifying as “kidfluencers” with a considerable amount of followers. A good example is Grant Davis, a little boy about to turn ten years old. In his Instagram reels, you can see Davis at the Florida shooting range, shooting rounds synced to music.
He is also one half of the “2A Boys” with his older brother James, who is 14 years old. Unlike other influencers, the boys are newcomers but have a significant following. This earned them their nomination as breakout stars in the gun influencer social media contest “The Gundies.”
Another set of preteens, tweens, and teens in this gun world includes accounts like Tactical Mia, Autumn Fry, Cheyenne Dalton, and the Survival Sisters. This rise in underage gun use is not going unnoticed. Earlier this fall, a gun violence prevention group, Sandy Hook Promise, issued a report detailing how firearm manufacturers are targeting a new generation of buyers and enthusiasts.
This begs the question, “Are gun manufacturers targeting kids by sponsoring fellow kids?” or “Are they simply encouraging kids with this hobby?” According to the group, young influencers having social media pages dedicated to gun use is problematic.
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“Because kids are the best messengers to other kids, the success of these channels underscores the fact that the companies paying them know that they are marketing to children,” the group wrote.
The report also called out many of the kids mentioned, but many of them didn’t respond. For the ones that did, they claim that their posts are purely entertainment and not aimed at financial gain. However, believing it’s only a hobby as companies pay these kids for their content isn’t easy.
Most have significant deals with gun companies covering jerseys, hearing protection, targets, optics, eye protection, and holsters. Therefore, they make a good income when people purchase their merchandise.
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A White House spokesman, Jeremy M. Edwards, spoke to USA TODAY regarding this pressing issue. To him, this is a deliberate attempt to market guns to kids.
He said, “Marketing guns to children is abhorrent, including the shameful practice of gun manufacturers using social media to encourage children to purchase deadly weapons. This is especially alarming when we know that guns are the No. 1 killer of kids,” he said.
The legal age for most children to buy or possess firearms is 18-21 in most states. However, there is an exception if parental supervision is present. Therefore, it is easy for these kids to become firearm “kidfluencers” as long as their parents are supervising them.
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Social media services like Meta and YouTube have also tried to help reduce the use of firearms by children. Several rules on their platforms regulate firearm content to reduce gun violence. However, many people have found ways to bypass these laws. Sometimes, these services only catch the videos after a long time has passed.
More kids will want to pick up the “hobby” of shooting firearms due to this increase in usage by kids their age. However, some people do not see this as wrong and believe it’s not a bad hobby for children. They also think this is not the reason for the increased school shootings and gun violence.
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