“People Watch Stuff That's Happy And Good”

One family’s video empire shows what it takes to shield young YouTube stars from the platform’s dark side.

- Emma Grey Ellis

HobbyBear is expecting a package any day now. In it will be a Silver Play Button, a plaque that YouTube gives to creators who have surpassed 100,000 subscribers. HobbyBear has a little under 99,000 now, so he hasn’t quite earned the commendation. But give him a break: He’s only 6. See, HobbyBear is one-fifth of HobbyKidsTV, a family-run children’s channel with 3 million-plus subscribers. He and his two big brothers—HobbyPig, who’s 11, and HobbyFrog, 9—each have their own channels. HobbyFrog has a plaque, so Hobby- Bear wants one as well. “He gets really excited whenever we get something from Amazon,” says his mother, who goes by the stage name HobbyMom. “He asks ‘Is that my silver button?!’ every time.”

“Sometimes,” HobbyBear clarifies.

“OK, sometimes,” HobbyMom says.

Listening to a 6-year-old reveal anxieties about his subscriber count is bizarre. Even for a YouTuber, HobbyBear is young. So young that it seems fair to ask him what he thinks YouTube even is. He has to think for a moment. His parents and big brothers have been on the platform since 2013, which was before he was born. He’s never known life without it. “I look at it on my phone,” he says finally. “People watch stuff that’s happy and good.”