This 7 year old is making millions from Toy Reviews on YouTube. Ryan ToyReviews, presumably run my this 7 year old’s parents features a cute and bubbly Ryan playing with toys and telling his 17 million subscribers what he likes.
Ryan also has his own toy line at Walmart, where he sells golden eggs for the low low price of $84.00 a pop
Ryan was just named Forbe’s highest earning YouTuber in 2019 with an income of $22 million.
When interviewed about why he thinks he’s so successful, he said: “I’m entertaining and I’m funny”
Can’t argue with that.
Ryan became popular with his unboxing videos and works with children’s toy brands to bring in a lot of dough. Other stars that made the Forbes 2018 cut ate Logan Paul, Pewdiepie, Jacksepticeye, Vanoss Gaming, Markiplier, Jeffree star, DanTDM, Dude Perfect, Jake Paul and of course ringing in at #1 our man Ryan.
So why would kids want to watch someone else play with toys rather than just play with toys themselves?
Chas Lacaillade, the founder and CEO of Bottle Rocket Management, which represents many unboxers said: “Unboxing videos provide the proxy for actually experiencing the joy of receiving and opening something you really desire; this is especially true for items that are out of reach or unattainable. The next best thing to owning one is experiencing it virtually, seeing someone else play with it.”
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In October, it was announced that Ryan’s channel will be repackaged and distributed on Hulu and Amazon.
7 year old Ryan serves as his company’s creative director, and 15% of Ryan’s earnings are funneled into what’s called a Coogan account, which is protected until he becomes a legal adult.
The original Coogan Account bill was passed in 1939 by the State of California in response to Jackie Coogan, who earned millions of dollars as a successful child actor only to discover, upon reaching adulthood, that his mother and stepfather had spent almost all of his money.
There’s of course a ton of backlash against making your child famous before they are old enough to make an informed decision for themselves. John Oates, founder of the British Psychological Society’s Media Ethics Advisory Group said: “There’s the question of what the child will think of these materials, which are there for all time basically, when they’re older and when they have a better capacity to judge … what they were induced to engage in”
And he, along with many other psychologists, are worried it will cause long-term psychological harm.
But what do you think about child YouTube stars? Do you think it’s cruel or harmless? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter at @WhatsTrending.
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