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A VIRAL CHILDHOOD

YouTube is linered with the texts of childhood-babies crying, babies laugh

ing, toddlers taking their first steps, birthday parties for children of all ages, ado
lescent angst (and anger), and teen vlogs to name just a few. Functioning in
equal part as personal diary, family album and cultural bookends, the thousands
of such videos speak to the coming of age of a new kind of childhood, where
the experience and recording of childhood is not restricted anymore

to

the

magic circle of family and friends and is instead part of a public, mediated per
formance that can be termed "viral childhood." While it is impossible to fully.
theorize all the constitutive elements of a viral childhood on YouTube, I will
suggest some key themes through a reading of some iconic childhood videos
(HaHaHa, Charlie Bit My Finger, He's Gonna Kick My Ass, David after Dentist)
and chose where children are placed square and center in a wider cultural nar
rative

(Break Dancing Baby Kick, Dancing Baby 1996 and Immersion).

Ha Ha Ha, with nearly a billion views, features a baby (a boy it appears)

laughing with complete abandon and consummate timing to the sounds made
by an adult (presumably his father). The sounds are "bing" and "dong," to
which me baby responds with an irrepressible smile followed by a loud laugh

that changes to a chortle as he winds down, followed immediately by anoth

er

round of laughter, echoing each vocal cue by the farner. There is a liturgi

A VIRAL CHILDHOOD

quality to the baby's laughter, both in the narrative cues/rcspom or

and in the performative arc of the laugh, which rises and (nils wil h
cue. In rhe middle of rhe video, rhere is a pause-an intermission !(you
the baby swallows, catches his brearh, and starts to get annoyed

fll 1 ht

of cues from the father. Once rhe father resumes rhe narrative, with
"bing," the baby continues laughing.

Ha Ha Ha is a performance that lends itself to an unproblematic reading

as a space of unmitigated joy and wonder. It takes very little to make
happy-just rhe loving attention of a parent and a simple melodic
Viewer responses overwhelmingly support such a reading ("adorable,"
"being the two most common appellations used) along with a range
presumptive effects-"this baby mama and papa are so happy to have them
their lives," "laughing

is

contagious," every time I am sad or depressed, I

this video."Such a reading is complemented by responses that speak to

of childhood as pure, innocent, happy and unproblematic. The baby
question is referred to as ''blessed," and a "blessing." Orhers speak to how
this video is a family experience ("My family loves this," "My sister
and she is only one"). However, in rhe end rhis is a video that speaks
to a singular reductive act-that of laughing itself. This is part of the
mythology and appeal online ("No words can describe this laugh,"

,Laui!!Illm2 made my day. This will forever be my favorite YouTube"), evi

nume:r01JScomments which were simply a reiteration of its defining

Bit My Finger is perhaps the defining video for understanding viral

U!Ohood-its iconic status lies as much in its number of comments and hits,
the extensive parricipatory culture it has spawned, wirh remixes, enact
and critiques on-line. First the specifics of the video: It features two

L'--'"'-::c-boys on a sofa: three-year-old Harry, and his baby brorher, Charlie. l ln1 1 y

the video speaking to the camera: "Charlie bit me," he says, in 11 Willi'
''"'-' -amused tone, suggesting that this was a simple nip, nothing tnul'h 111 II
s"'''''" """that. He rhen proceeds to place his finger squarely inside hnrlfto' ,,,,,,JI,,
pemaps see what else Charlie might do or at the very least 10 txptdl'llll' tlu
.
again. This time, Charlie proceeds to bite-long, h 11rd 11nd 11"'1'""111\ly
as brother Harry's

,-.i: and near anger

expression changes from mild nmuRt'1111'111

1111

I111Uti11111 Jlllill

dill it' I iiIIIIU' 1, l1dlo

backon the sofa, rubbing his finger behind his lwud (1111d 111 1 till' Mill I ""II') 1111d
tell ing his brother "That really hurt Chn rlit " lwftllt' rltllv,illl dw dtlildtivr
'..line of the video: "Charlie bit my ling. , . " !11 d1ls illIiiii, ( 'hndit ''""" 10 1hc
.
at his brother's efforts. He mannuc

to I' XI

FAME

camera, cracks a big smile, and laughs with a delightful sense of having accom
plished something pleasurable even as he acknowledges that he has just done
something mischievous.
Understanding the appeal of this vipeo must begin with its iconic status as
a construct of viral childhood. There are innumerable references to the impor
ranee of this video, ranging from the expected references to "cute" and
"adorable," to a veritable cottage industry of videos that replicate the original,
critique it, rework it, and remix it using hip-hop and other musical forms. As
one comment

put it, "these must be the most famous kids on the planet," and

a number of news accounts/interviews with the parents attest to the price of

fame-the exact location of the family is usually not discussed (they live in a.
suburb of London) and their privacy needs are emphasized. The video's impor
tance is also signaled by the debate it generates-there are numerous exchanges
between fans and critics of the video in the comments section, taking form and
sustenance from the specifics of the protagonists actions ( "dude, if it hurts don't.
shove your finger in the kids mouth") and consequences ("he is going to grow
up gay, sticking his finger in guys mouths"). There was one memorable sequence
of comments where a number of people tried to come up with increasing
els of hyperbole in discussing why they did not like the video. Here are
examples/comments by different viewers:
"I'd rather stick a suction pipe down my throat than watch this

video again."

"I'd rather grate my nipples off with a rusty cheese grate than watch this video."

Such exchanges notwithstanding, much of the video's appeal lies, l would

gest, in its narrative arc and synedochical expression of a range of
emotions. Viewer comments reflect the considerable pleasure on-line
take in specific moments in narrative development ("]liked it at 0:18 when
baby makes that noise. It was awesome," "This is so cute, l Love his face at
so

adorable"), language and dialogue (numerous comments repeat lines

the video, such as "ouch Charlie that really hurt," "and it still hurts") and
persona of the major characters, especially the baby Charlie ("1 like it
Charlie ALMOST looks like he is sorry but cracks a HUGE smile and
and Charlie tries to bite him through the blanket," "!like it how Charlie
gles after the long stream of silence," "the way he knows he has done sutu'-'w'l>.
bad and just laughs") and finally, identiry (numerous comments pointed to
British accent-"love that accent"-as an endearing feature of the video).
1

ht:mcs

nre

also emergent in TV interviews and commentaries on the video.

A VIRAL CHILDHOOD

53

one journalist put it, the video's appeal lies in its range of human emotions: "Joy,

crust, doubt, happiness, fear, grief and joy again. It's a human journey in 30 sec
onds" (YouTube video: "C harlie Bit Me: The first TV interview with Richard and
ju dy ").
.
Charlie Bit My Finger is also important for examining issues of the viral per
formance of childhood-the video has spawned considerable mainstream
media discussion of_the children and their lives-there are a number of inter
views with TV outlets both in the UK and overseas available on You Tube, with
the specifics of most interviews focusing on a reflexive engagement with the

Charlie Bit lvly Finger video. l11ere appears in the children an emergent sense
of their role in creating a media history around this video, which becomes a
point of origin in the online creation of self. The family becomes part of the
(ongoing) mobilization of such a viral identity, with the creation of a website
which can be accessed from YouTube (Harryandcharlieblogspot.com) where
there are blogs about family vacations, and numerous pictures of the children
(the couple have a third child, Jasper). The website has pictures of family
occasions (beach trips, parties) and daily life ("driving jasper" and "the acci
dent"). The recording and posting of daily life seems especially relevant to
understanding the viral performance of childhood. Driving]asper features older
brother Harry pushing his younger brother's car round and round the backyard,
an

eye firmly planted on the camera; while the The Accident features Charlie

eating his lunch, accidentally biting his tongue on the food, and crying for his
mother. These mundane records of raising children, I would suggest, are now
elevated to a viral performance aimed equally at the family members who
might view them and at the numerous subscribers that visit the site, looking

both at the videos and the commercial content on the site (T-shirts saying
"Charlie Bit My Finger"). The most compelling video on the site is a "Calendar
compilation 2010," which has pictures of the children, along with a quiz about
each of the children and their family (for example, it asks where the godpar
ents of the children live. Knowledgeable viewers-who would have watched
interviews with the parents and children-would know that they live in
America and that Charlie Bit My Finger was first posted on YouTube so that they
could see it).

In line with the thematics of Charlie Bit My Finger are two other iconic rep
resentations of a childhood online-He's Gonna Kick lvly Ass and Asian Baby
Sings Hey Jude. The former begins with the text 'When a three-year-old is asked
about monsters, her answer may surprise you." It features a disarming little girl
telling her mother (who sets up the narrative by asking her "tell mommy again

FAME

wlwt he WilS going to say to you if he came here") a number of times that the
monster "is going to come in here, he's gonna kick my ass" followed by her wish
10 "bck his ass." The video's popularity lies unrlen1ably in the appeal of the lit
lie girl-1:he movement of her hand s , the nodd mg of her head, the gap-toothed
smile, all coalesce around her innocent use of rhe word "ass" and offer all
llllproblematic reading of childhood: irresisti bly chann ing. 'fhe video also

reads as a parab le abour parenting, wi th the mod1er ending the video by telling
her daughter to use the word "butt" to which she replies "Oooh." Asian Balry

Smgs Hey]uae is similarly positioned-as a text about innocence, to which is

added the wonder of perfonnarivity at such a young age. The young child, still
in d iape n;, cradles a huge guitar and sings "Hey jude," perfec tly imitating the
rhythms and nuanc es of the original, down to the last high-pitch.ed rendition
u( d1e song's refrain ("Hey jude"). While innocence/performativity is the pri
mary rea ding of this video, ideas about ethnicity and t he cross-cultural appeal
of the Beatles as a musical language lie under the surface. The baby begms the
song with a bow and a aadir ional Korean greeting ("Aneoaseo"), be for e launch
ing into the song. Both the s e videos provide an important window to un der

standing vital ch ildhood, workin g much like Charlie Bit My Finger, to mobilize

an emotive frame for how children behave, act and perform for d1e camera and
us.

David after Dentist

is

an iconic viral childhood video that was poste d by a

father who filmed his son (wid! a cell phone camera) after a demise's appoint
ment. Still feeling d1e effects of sedation, which include blurred vision and dis
orientation, the eight-year-old David proceeds to ask a series of ontological

questions ("Is t his real life?" "Why is d1is h a ppen ing to me?" "Will d1is be few
ever?) arrl qu ie t ly stated asse rtions ("I do n' t feel an ythin g, " "I'm not tired," "I
feel fun ny"). Added to the mix is a highly strung scream, interspersed with

rolli n g and lolling around in his seat. A website deve lop ed after the video we nt
viral (www.davidafterdentist.com) provides ethnographic derail by d1e father
about the visit: "There was no coaching or editing. I JUSt film ed what I was see
ing and he arin g. The deep questions David asks, show his deep thinking that
we have come to know as part of his personality" (accessed,

ll/09/09). The

v1deo was posted on YouTube on January 31, 2009, a n d by the following

Tuesday had three million lms, followed by extensive mamsrream media cov
erage including a ppearance s on rhe Ta.lay Show, Tyra Banks Shotu, and Bill

O'ReiUy. The last appearance has bec ome well known for a diatribe by the host
against the father for nor. mking c ar e ofbis son and focusing instead on the film
ing. As the father puts ir, "I bnsically was just there to listen to Bill." Some com

A VIRAL CHILDHOOD

rnents on the video's we si te reiterate such

concerns,

55

e ponse by
n)

including a r s

th e father to a stndent woman viewer who saw the father's action ( filmi g as
singula rly inappropriate. While in this limited sense, Dad after Dentist mabi

lizes common 1deas about

parenting (good/attentive versus bad/inattentive), the

- majoriry of the comments arc positive and cover muc h the same terrain as evi
denced m Charlie Bit My Finger. In add1rion, the importance of this video lies
in

the numerous responses that have been made to it. 1 now tum ro a brief dis

''!: cussion of these, focu sing on just five-David after Donuts, David after
\
. S wimming, Dcwid after Diabetes, David after Drugs and David after Divorce.
_:.:;;, All the videos use the same cinematic frame-a boy/man scrapped in the

- b ack seat with the camera pointing at him at an angle (presumably all were

"

made with a cell phone camera). ll1ey all use variations of the same key phras
es and exchanges but thematize them diff erently depending on the subject and

t,i<>expecred audience or ienta ti on

David after Donuts featu res a y o un g boy

'";;' (between six to eight years old) who sits self-consciously in the back seat, his
_'c face smerued with jelly donut stains and ruminating on the aftereffects of too
;;::many donuts ("Why is jelly on my face? I d on't feel hungry") using the donuts
.

as props, rubbing them on his face, intoning,"! have two donuts, four donuts"
",.
and culmmating in a vomiting sound as the camera moves away.ln sum, it rakes
.

'

an experience

common ro all children-overeating-and uses it to generate an

>- affective fable abou; the excesses of childhood. While the video is not partic-

ularly compelling, it suggests an entry point for understanding how a singular

_:} text about childhood ( going to the dentist) can be used as a narrative frame for
';f.\{other experiences of childhood (overea ring ) . 'Ibis is a process that, I would sug
f:(est, is discursively expansive. This becomes especially evident when we con

s i der the other videos at hand, all of which use adult figures and develop adult
themes. David afrer Swnnming features a large, muscular man a full body sw1mm

. suit imitating a child. The dtalogue and exchanges now extend the terms of
.:.what is bei n g discussed, from going to
e dentist and eating a donut, to 1he

th

----

effects of a very long swim session. 'Inese include, "It smells funny" ("lr's JUS!

the chlonne buddy") "ls th.is seamless?" ("Yes it is")"! hav e IWO padd les
,_

J have
four paddles' ("Yes you do")"] feel funny" ("It's jusr the L1craid"). h is impor-

.,;..tant ro

note that the person interacting with the swimmer mimics 1 he tone ancl

attitu de of an n ulg nt, somewhat weary father. ln other words, this is an adulr
expenencin performing a text about childhoml-ir ls a&<llm'<l that the humo r

g/

i d e

com es from the absur d1ty of a grown man feeling, talking and acting much like
a

child would after an exhausting swi m.

me other three videos (David after Diabetes, David after Drugs and David

FAME

afrer Divorce) take the idea of childhood and extend it to a number of adul

experiences, functioning not just to open up the range of discourses provide,

by the original but also equally to recast the very rerms in which childhood i

represented. David after Diabetes features an adult man fading and slumping ir
the back scat, reciting his lines "I feel low" ("Your blood sugar is low, have;

juice box") "Do I have diabetes?" ("It's from the insulin level. Put the juice bo>
in your mouth"). The video functions as a PSA about the needs and conditior
of a diabetic and by using an adult figure--once again one who acts as

child-along with a parental figure responding with directions about his con

dition. David after Drugs focuses on the effects of drug use. While not structured
as a PSA, it can be read as a cautionary tale, since it features a crazed-looking

young man who smokes a large joint, smashes the car window, and unleashes

a profanity-filled exchange with his friend/adult figure in the front seat

("!'

so horny," "I have two balls," "Now, I am fucking high"). This video moves
childhood from the site of innocent dilemmas (dentist, donuts) or conditions

(diabetes) to those of youth angst, violence and drug use. Finally, David after

Divorce completes the narrative journey of this text into the dilemmas of adult
hood, featuring a man who has just signed his divorce papers (and who is

reduced to drinking from a bottle in the back seat) facing the realiry of his new

'

life, brought into sharp focus with exchanges with a friend, who works as a sub>
stitute parent figure: "Is this real life?" ("Yes it's different now") "Where is my.

wedding ring" ("You don't wear that anymore") "Do I still have children?

("Yes, you are still their father") "Why can't I see them" ("Because she has cusl

tody, you'll see them on the weekend") "Why is this happening to me?";

("Because she is in love with someone else") "Is this going to be forever!';

(No ...well, probably").

I want to conclude with a discussion of the intersection between childhood

and viral culture with the iconic Dancing Baby videos. One of the earliest.)
Internet phenomena, it began its life as a digital file circulated between anima-.

tors, film makers and Internet users before it appeared on the AUy McBeal show j

(the first appearance was in an episode in 1998, accompanying Vonda Shepard's

song, "Hooked on a Feeling"). One video shows the actress playing the tide role-
(Calista Rockharr) emerging from the bathroom after a shower, despondent and

alone (a recurring motif of the show, which is often seen as the poster child for :'

pct-feminism, where all the lead characters have very successful professional-

lives, but woeful personal ones). The baby emerges from a doorway, and soon

d
an

we have both McBeal and the baby dancing spontaneously with complet
abandon and unmitigated joy. As a post-feminist text, the baby represents

\11\'\11\hlll

rtt.tvwo

...

o--

A VIRAL CHILDHOOD

important use of viral childhood in d1e discursive construction of adult femal

identity. T he baby represents (simultaneously) bom a return to childhood an
a specific construction of childhood-a space in which one can literally dane
Specific

to

me show, d1e baby was meant to signify me ticking of McBeal's bio

logical clock-a recurring anxiety on many post-feminist shows. Anchored b

mis dominant reading in McBeal, me dancing baby morphed in a number

directions, wim online parodies (Rasta Ba&y, Drunken Ba&y, Samurai Ba&y),
music videos (the Rick James hit, "Give It to Me Baby"), related songs (tb
band Trubble released

song called "Dancing Baby/Ooga Chaka"), commer

cials (a Blockbuster Video adverrisement), and numerous TV shows

(Millennium, YHI 's I love the 90s, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Simpsons) and even

video games, where me baby's moves are imitated by certain characters in dif
ferent games (Silent HiU 4,

Quest far Glory V: Dragon Fire, Roller Typing, Zoo

Tycoon). What connects all of these references, simply put, is me viral mobi
lization of childhood as a discursive construct, where me baby represents bom
possibility and actualization of identity mrough a performative idiom. One
advertisement in particular bears mentioning-the Evian Dancing Babies-an
Internet phenomenon in its own right, but which clearly draws on me discur
sive frame of me original. Dancing Ba&y. It features a troupe of babies rollerblad
ing wim considerable aplomb-they jump, twirl, slide and generally rock
out---extending me lmguage of a viral childhood inaugurated by me Dancing

Ba&y video.