Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@kimkardashian
Topics: Celebrity, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kim Kardashian, North West, The Kardashians, US News, Instagram, Social Media, Parenting, Entertainment
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Celebrity, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kim Kardashian, North West, The Kardashians, US News, Instagram, Social Media, Parenting, Entertainment
North West, the 12-year-old daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, has sparked concern this week after joining Instagram.
For those in need of a reminder, the pre-teen is the eldest of the now-divorced A-list couple's four children, followed by sons Saint, nine, and Psalm, five, and seven-year-old daughter, Chicago.
In recent months, both North and her reality TV star mother have hit international headlines for their online antics - sometimes for some rather unsavoury reasons.
Back in October, Kim was called out after her child shared a TikTok clip donning electric blue braids, matching blue eye contacts, a fake nose piercing and a handful of facial tattoos, being told by one critic: "I'm sorry but isn't this too much for a 12 year old? I mean let kids be kids. 12 come on!"
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Weeks later, North debuted two dermal hand piercings on the video-sharing app, sparking mass backlash online given that this specific body modification carries 'a high risk of complications' and 'requires meticulous aftercare'.
In November, Kim was subjected to criticism for allowing North to model her latest line of SKIMS shape and loungewear, and just last week, the youngster revealed that she'd fully bleached her eyebrows.
This week, however, it's the fact that North has joined the social media site Instagram that has set tongues wagging.
(As a reminder, she already has a TikTok account, @kimandnorth, which she shares with her super famous mum.)
Despite the website's T&Cs ruling that users must be at least 13 years old to have an account - and even then, they must abide by more protective Teen Account settings - a profile linked to the young rebel went live on Saturday (20 Dec).
North's debut pic - shared with her 410,000 followers (so far) - showed herself posing in an oversized Balenciaga top with her fingers up in a peace sign, captioned: 'first post'. A second upload shows another female - presumably a friend - donning a winter get-up, posing with her hands shielding her face.
Her bio also reads: "account managed by parents."
As we say, however, the news of North's latest social media move hasn't gone down too well with a number of onlookers, who believe she's too young for such a heavy online presence.
"My social media presence at her age haunts me to this day and I didn’t have millions of people watching it play out," one concerned Reddit user admitted. "I really wish Kim would tell her no more often."
They also referenced Kim's eldest son, adding of North: "There’s no need for her to have a public instagram or TikTok and the same goes for Saint with his Youtube channel.
"Looked out of curiosity and there’s already a bunch of grown men following her. So gross."
On the latter, another user agreed: "Can’t wrap my head around the fact that Kim is not scared of the grown ass men on the internet. Truly I can’t understand. Are the comments available to everyone or did she restrict it?"
A third went on to point out: "Right? Like it’s one thing that they appear on the show (given the fact that whom her parents are she will always be in the public eye) but letting my 12 year old daughter to have any kind of access to social media is not ok at all!
"And the Kardashians know very well how the public operates. It’s just weird and Kim should do better in this situation."
On the mother-of-four herself, another noted: "It just seems like she’s scared to tell them no because she doesn’t want them to resent her, and it’s probably hard given the situation with their dad and trying to balance that but sometimes you have to be tough with kids.
"They’ll hate you today and then thank you in 20 years."