To most people, there aren't many things more adorable than seeing children doing what they do best: playing.
And thanks to social media networks, even children can become celebrities by just playing inside their own homes.
Boram Tube is a Korean YouTube channel that focuses on children’s entertainment videos, centered on a girl named Boram and her two relatives, Ddochi and Konan.
Boram, born in 2013 in Gangnam, Seoul, is the star on the channel, which tells the story of her life as a child, with many of the channel's videos showing Boram playing with various toys.
Boram Tube and some other channels that also star Boram, only show kid-friendly videos and toy reviews.
That until one day, people said that Boram has died.
But just like many things that are on the internet, netizens are sensitive when things are out of the ordinary.
One day, social media networks were populated about news that said Boram has died.
One of Boram's channel that is considered among the most popular YouTube channels from South Korea, suddenly stopped uploading new videos.
Soon, the few reports that said Boram has passed, were amplified with the many people on social media networks. Even news channels started to follow the case.
Some said that Boram died because she became a victim of abuse.
After all, Boram that starred in a number of channels managed and gained a combined 30 million followers. With the many views the videos earned, the channels' monetization program through Google AdSense and sponsorships have turned the little Boram a millionaire in South Korea.
Back in 2019, it was reported in various news media that the South Korean YouTube star has purchased a 9.5 billion Korean won ($8 million) five-story property in Seoul.
And since Boram became a YouTube influencer, many of her fans have expressed dissatisfaction, thinking that her parents were allegedly making Boram carry out their plans to make money.
Many have accused that Boram was abused in order for the channel to earn more views.
For example, people said that her parents told Boram to eat what she didn't want to eat, and engaging in activities that could have harmed her.
But still, as reports said come from various claimed sources, the many information clouded the fact that her family didn't make any official statement on Boram's passing, and the police was never involved.
In other words, the case of abuse and death were not proven.
The news about Boram's death that went viral, was simply caused by the people themselves who made it viral in order to profit, and/or spreading the words without verifying the source of the information.
Several viewers then dismissed the case as a far-fetched and made-up narrative.
However, some other people suggested otherwise.
Some said that the reason that no one from Boram's family has made a statement after the death rumor, could actually indicate something.
Moments later, the channel uploaded a new video, but at the time, no one knows whether the video is actually new
Back in 2019, a government survey in South Korea found that elementary school students nationwide picked YouTuber as their fifth most-desired career choice.
But given the massive success of many young YouTubers, it was only a matter of time before the career option would win over the hearts of children, as well as their parents.
In fact, the interest of people becoming YouTubers has propelled private institutions and even some schools in South Korea to offer students and parents classes on how to build their own YouTube channels.
Boram was considered the single most-followed independent YouTube channel in South Korea. Boram was also the star of the country’s second most-subscribed independent channel.
But still, whenever children is involved, controversies will come.
While most young YouTubers post videos of themselves engaging in inoffensive and age-appropriate behavior, such as playing with toys or eating snacks, some YouTube channels have faced criticism for creating videos that involve the children engaging in disruptive, even illegal, activities to attract views on their channel.
Some of the children’s parents, and also guardians, have also been accused of utilizing the youngsters' popularity to produce click-worthy videos.
As a result, the contents they produce can be harmful to not only the children starring in the channels, but also to viewers who are also young.
In Boram's case, people were also concerned about how Boran’s personal growth was affected by her celebrity and viewership.
Among other reasons, this is why YouTube disallowed comments to show up on children videos.