Wren Eleanor: All You Need to Know About the Controversial Preschool TikTok Star
If you’ve got kids who like TikTok or spend some time on the platform yourself, you might have heard about a girl named Wren Eleanor, or seen hashtags talking about the so-called Wren and Jacquelyn controversy. You might wonder who Wren is and what this “controversy” is all about. Keep reading for a full breakdown.
Contents:
- What Is the Story of Wren Eleanor?
- What Is the Wren Controversy?
- The Dangers of Posting Children on Social Media
- What Not To Do When It Comes to Social Media: How To Protect Your Kids
- FAQs
What Is the Story of Wren Eleanor?
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We’ll begin by simply introducing Wren Eleanor for those who are completely out-of-the-loop on this particular TikTok tale—Wren Eleanor is a toddler, a preschool-aged girl who has her own TikTok account, which is managed by her mom, Jacquelyn. But this isn’t just any account—it’s a hugely popular one, as little Wren has drawn in close to 17 million followers worldwide.
On the account, Jacquelyn shares clips of her little one doing everyday things, like eating snacks, trying on cute outfits, playing with toys, and so on. The videos are perfectly innocent on the face of it and don’t involve anything unusual at first glance. But they have still created a controversial storm on TikTok and beyond, which we’ll detail below.
Who Are Wren and Jacquelyn?
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Wren and Jacquelyn are a mother-daughter duo based in Nebraska. It was Wren’s mom, Jacquelyn, who had the idea to start up a TikTok account for her daughter as a way to preserve visual memories of her daughter, but the account blew up in a big way, with many videos receiving tens of millions of views and lots of comments, shares, likes and saves, too.
What Is the Wren Controversy?
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Now you know the basics, let’s get into the details of the Wren and Jacquelyn controversy. Essentially, it’s all about privacy and the genuine fears of many parents around the world about sharing images and videos of their young children in a public place—like on a TikTok account—where anybody else could see, save, and use them in various ways.
In other words, many people think that what Jacquelyn has done simply isn’t right. They argue that children, especially those as young as Wren Eleanor, shouldn’t be showcased online for all to see in this way. It could attract all sorts of negative consequences, including possible predators, groomers, or people editing Wren’s clips in unpleasant ways.
One TikToker, a former FBI special agent named Tracy Walder, went as far as saying that Jacquelyn was effectively exploiting her daughter, as Wren herself has no say in any of the content and no real ability to agree or disagree with her image being plastered online, while Jacquelyn has allowed herself to post clip after clip for their millions of subscribers.
Some have also made the argument that even though Jacquelyn is far from the only mom to ever post videos of their child online, a lot of other parents have “family channels” where they are also featured in the content alongside their kids. On the Wren page, however, Wren is the one and only star of the show and Jacquelyn very rarely appears or gets involved.
Why Are Viewers Worried About Wren Eleanor?
A lot of people both on TikTok and elsewhere have expressed concern and fear for Wren Eleanor’s well-being and future safety. This all ties into the aforementioned controversy, with many people worried about what could happen to this little girl who is so globally exposed and has so many of her clips and images saved on computers and other devices around the world.
One TikTok user also dug into some of the most common search terms related to Wren Eleanor, which included things like “Wren Eleanor hot dog” and “Wren scandalous outfits.” This suggests that a lot of people are looking for clips of Wren Eleanor that could be construed as sexual or suggestive in some way, which is a clear red flag for possible predator or pedophile activity.
Other TikTok users and online detectives have looked at some of the many comments listed under Wren Eleanor videos, discovering some rather concerning messages. There are comments from men calling Wren “mature” and “cute,” for example, and comments left by people with suggestive usernames and histories of watching or making mature content.
This all fuels fears that one or more of the many people who follow Wren online could eventually do more than that. They could become obsessed with her, track her down, use her images in nefarious ways, or even try to kidnap her someday. Of course, there’s no guarantee that any of that would happen, but many feel it’s unfair of Jacquelyn to run the risk and expose Wren so much.
Read also: Social Media Is Toxic: How to Protect Your Kids from It.
The Dangers of Posting Children on Social Media
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The Wren Eleanor case shines the light on just how dangerous and scary social media can be for parents and their children. Jacquelyn may indeed have started the channel just as a handy way to preserve some memories, like how people make home movies or photo albums, but it’s clearly turned into much more than that, opening a world of dangers for Wren.
Predators and Pedophiles
It’s a tragic but true fact that there are predators and pedophiles in this world who are capable of horrible acts that most people couldn’t even imagine. The internet is the perfect place for them to find content they crave or even seek out victims for abuse. Posting images or videos of children online could essentially “invite” these kinds of criminals to target them.
Exploitation
There’s also a risk of exploitation of a child who has their image posted online all the time. On TikTok, for example, lots of people have saved Wren Eleanor’s videos and could possibly use them against her in certain ways. They could manipulate her image or voice using AI and deepfake software to create their own clips, for example, possibly putting Wren in some very difficult situations in years to come.
Grooming
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Grooming is a form of abuse in which someone effectively shows kindness or care to a young person to build a relationship with them, often with the ultimate intent of turning that relationship into one of an abusive or sexual nature. Again, if a child’s image is always being posted online, they’re more likely to be spotted and identified as a target by would-be groomers.
Doxxing
For the unfamiliar, “doxxing” is when a person’s private information—like their address or phone number—is uncovered online and then posted without their consent. As an example, someone might find out the real name of a user on Twitter and then share all their personal details for the world to see. This can happen to children who feature in lots of social media content.
Lack of Consent
Children, especially toddlers like Wren, aren’t old enough to understand the risks and complications of the internet and all that it entails. There’s clearly a gray area of consent here, as their parents can post pictures and videos without asking their child for approval, which could be seen as an infringement on their right to privacy and control over their own image.
Breakdown in Family Relationships
As a child gets older, more independent, and more aware of themselves and the world around them, they might not be happy about the idea of their image being posted online so much. They might resent their parents for uploading so many clips and images without consent, and this could, ultimately, lead to entire breakdowns in family connections.
Related: How to Keep Your Kids Safe from TikTok Scams.
What Not To Do When It Comes to Social Media: How To Protect Your Kids
The Kids360 app
Now you know just some of the many dangers that can come from sharing your child’s image online. Next, let’s explore some tips, tricks, and strategies that parents should follow to keep their families safe and protect their children from the dangers of social media.
- Avoid Posting Images and Videos of Your Children Publicly: The simplest strategy is the most obvious: don’t post images and videos of your children in any public online setting. Don’t share them on your public Twitter or Instagram profile, for example, where anyone from around the world can see them.
- Use Privacy Settings to Control Who Can See Your Content: All good social media apps and platforms have security and privacy settings you can adjust to control who sees your profile and the content you share. Use those settings to limit the kind of people (just friends and family, for example) who get to see pics or clips of your kids.
- Monitor Your Child’s Social Media Use and Settings: Of course, your kids might have their own social accounts where they post photos and videos, too. Supervise these accounts to make sure your kids aren’t posting anything inappropriate, and customize the privacy settings to block any unwanted viewers or friend requests from strangers.
- Use Apps to Track Your Child’s Online Movements (and Restrict Them): Use apps like Kids360 to keep your kids safe. Kids360 lets you see exactly which apps are installed on your child’s device and set screen time and use limits for those apps, or even block the ones you don’t want your kids to access. It’s the perfect way to keep them safe.
- Communicate with Your Kids About Online Dangers: Communication is so important when it comes to raising children in today’s technological world. Many kids see social media as a fun space to chat with friends, blissfully unaware of all the risks it brings. Educate your kids about the dangers so they know how to behave safely.
- Give Your Children the Skills to Spot Dangers and Respond Appropriately: As well as letting your kids know about some of the risks online, educate them about how to respond if, for example, they get a message or friend request from someone they don’t know or how to spot the signs of grooming or predatory activity.
Protecting your kids on social media starts with smart monitoring. With the Kids360 app, you can set boundaries, track their activity, and ensure they stay safe online. Take control of your child’s digital world—download Kids360 today and create a safer online environment.
Wren Eleanor Exposes the Risks of Social Sites
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No matter your views on the Wren Eleanor controversy, it’s clear that there are both ups and downs of sharing images of children online. While it may appear perfectly innocent to share a photo of your son or daughter on the internet, you can’t always predict how that image will be seen, used, saved, and even exploited by people you simply don’t know.
Share this guide around so other moms and dads learn about the dangers of social sites and how to keep their kids safe!
FAQs
Where Are Jacqueline and Wren From?
According to reports, Wren Eleanor and her mom are based in Nebraska.
How Many Followers Does Wren Eleanor Have?
At the time of writing, Wren Eleanor has around 16.8 million followers on TikTok.
The picture on the front page: Instagram
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