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Labor Day Weekend Travel: What to Do if Your Flight Is Delayed or Canceled

Labor Day Weekend Travel: What to Do if Your Flight Is Delayed or Canceled

What's happening

An estimated 12.8 million Americans will fly over Labor Day weekend.

Why it matters

While air travel has returned to pre-pandemic levels, many airlines are still plagued by significant delays and cancellations.

Labor Day is here and, despite ongoing flight disruptions and high ticket prices, an estimated 12.6 million Americans will be flying over the three-day holiday weekend, according to data from travel site Hopper.

American Airlines alone estimates 2.5 million customers will board 26,400 scheduled flights through Monday. 

Many of those fliers will face delays and cancellations. On average, 23% of flights in August were delayed from departing US airports, an increase of nearly 30% compared to 2019. And cancellation rates last month were more than double their 2019 rates, as airlines mobilize to address staff shortages, pickets, weather disruptions and other issues.

By 10 a.m. ET on Thursday, American Airlines had already reported 100 delayed flights, according to the website FlightAware, and 23 cancellations. Industrywide, more than 800 flights within, into, or out of the United States have been delayed Thursday morning and 102 canceled.

Analysts don't expect schedules will get back to normal until at least the fall, when demand settles down and new hires have had time to be trained up. 

If you're flying over Labor Day, here's what you need to know about avoiding a travel nightmare, what the airlines owe you if there's a cancellation or delay, and more. 

For more travel tips, here are some great travel gadgets, guidance on renewing your passport online and 19 things to add to your travel checklist. before leaving home.

Why have there been so many delays and cancellations?

Layoffs and contract buyouts during the pandemic have left many airlines short-staffed, fueling ongoing delays and cancellations.

Getty Images

Since Memorial Day, US-based airlines canceled more than 50,000 flights and delayed over a half-million, according to NPR. Delta said it canceled 100 scheduled daily flights in the US and Latin America between July 1 and Aug. 7. Southwest Airlines nixed almost 20,000 summer flights.   
The biggest factor has been that airlines are incredibly short-staffed. When the pandemic slowed air travel to a trickle, many carriers bought out employees' contracts and encouraged older pilots to take early retirement.

As a result, from December 2019 to December 2020, the number of airline workers shrank by at least 114,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Now carriers are clamoring to staff back up, but they're finding it hard to fill positions. 

The shortages extend to ground staff, baggage handlers, gate personnel and other workers, FlightAware spokesperson Kathleen Bangs told CNET. "They did a lot of buyouts during the pandemic. It's a remarkable growth period and they're just back-footed." 

It's particularly acute with pilots because it can take up to five years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to train someone to fly a commercial airplane.

"Most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plans because there simply aren't enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years," United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a quarterly earnings call back in April, NBC News reported.

Extreme weather has also added to the problem: Severe thunderstorms have caused multiple delays and flight cancellations, and that's aside from hurricane and wildfire season. Aircraft can fly at lower altitudes to try to avoid storm systems, but that burns more fuel -- a dicey proposition given the high cost of jet fuel. 

How to avoid having your flight delayed or canceled

There isn't much you can do to prevent a delay or cancellation. But there are some common-sense steps that will give you a better shot at making it to your destination -- or at least relaxing at home or in a hotel room, rather than stewing in the airport.

Download your airline's mobile app to keep on top of changes to your flight schedule.

Pavlo Gonchar/Getty Images

Leave extra time for layovers. You might think an hour is plenty of time to get from one gate to another, especially in the same terminal. But if the first leg of your journey is delayed that hour can turn into 30 minutes. And with most airlines closing the plane doors about 15 minutes prior to departure, you could easily miss your connection.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Denver International Airport (DEN) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) top the list of busiest hubs over the Labor Day holiday, according to Hopper.

Don't book a late-night flight. If you miss a connection, most airlines will work diligently to get you on the next available flight. But if you booked the last flight of the day to your destination, that may mean having to wait until morning -- and either pacing through the airport for hours or booking a night in a nearby hotel. 

Download the airline's app on your phone. Opt into flight notifications and start manually checking the status of your flight regularly, at least 24 hours in advance. As soon as you hear your flight has been cut, find out if you've been transferred to another flight.

Monitor the weather at both your departure and arrival airports. Start checking the weather in both places a few days before your flight. Some airlines will actually reschedule your flight in advance of a major weather front at no extra charge. If a storm is on its way, you might consider leaving a few days earlier or later or finding a different route.

Buy travel insurance. Depending on why your flight is canceled or delayed, the airline might not comp any meals, accommodations or transport you're forced to purchase. The payout for travel insurance may not cover all of your expenses, but it will definitely be more than the cost of a policy, typically 5% to 10% of your trip cost.

What to do if your flight is delayed or canceled

Time is of the essence, so be proactive about rescheduling your flight. 

"A lot of the time you can reschedule yourself on the flight of your choice" using the airline's app, said David Slotnick, senior aviation reporter for The Points Guy. "It'll save you a lot of time and aggravation." (Like CNET, The Points Guy is owned by Red Ventures.)

If that's not possible, call the airline. Even if you get sent to an automated system, it may have a call-back function. You can still call if you're already at the airport. Do it while you're in line to talk to an agent and take whichever option is available first.

What does the airline owe you if your flight is canceled?

While some airlines are able to get you booked on a different carrier if your flight is canceled, not all can.

Dmitry Marchenko/Getty Images

In the US, if a flight is canceled because of something that is the airline's fault -- a mechanical issue or a staffing shortage -- the carrier is required to refund your ticket.

"If you get canceled for any reason -- you don't take your flight -- they have to offer you a cash refund," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told NPR. "If you'd rather take miles or a different flight, fine. But that's up to you, not them. They've got to give you a refund. That's a basic rule,"  

The Department of Transportation website mandates airlines must also refund the cost of your ticket after a schedule change or significant delay, but the agency hasn't defined what constitutes a "significant delay."

"Whether you are entitled to a refund depends on many factors -- including the length of the delay, the length of the flight and your particular circumstances," according to the DOT website. Whether a refund following a significant delay is warranted is determined "on a case-by-case basis." 

If you don't request a refund, the airline is still responsible for getting you to your destination. But it could be much later than your original flight. Under most circumstances, carriers should provide vouchers for meals and hotels.

Make your plans quickly, though: Airport hotels fill up quickly amid widespread delays and cancellations.

Some airlines will work to get you on another flight with a different airline, Slotnick said, but not every airline has relationships with other carriers. 

What are airlines doing to address delays and cancellations?

Hiring more employees. "All the airlines are doing major hiring initiatives," Slotnick said. "They're rushing to hire pilots and deploy them." They're also trying to improve work conditions for existing workers: In April, Delta announced it would start paying flight attendants during boarding, rather than just once the plane door closes.

The move, a first for a major US airline, is seen as a countermeasure to a unionization push among workers.

Scheduling more flights. Someairlines are boosting service in popular corridors when they can. "They're trying to strike the right balance between adding flights and creating some slack in the system," Slotnick said.

For example, United Airlines recently launched or resumed 30 flights between the US and Europe, its largest expansion ever. Regular flights from Denver to Munich, Chicago to Zurich and New York to Bergen, Norway, are underway, as well as daily service between Boston and London.

When fully operational, United's transatlantic route network will be more than 25% larger than it was in 2019, before COVID-19 cratered air travel.

Some airlines have ramped up their roster of scheduled flights, while others have pared down to avoid having to cancel them later.

James Martin/CNET

Scheduling fewer flights. Otherairlines are going in the opposite direction, reducing their capacity rather than risk being forced to cancel a scheduled flight. JetBlue has already reduced its May routes by almost 10%, Conde Nast Traveler reported, and will likely make similar cuts throughout the summer.

"By reducing our flight schedule for the summer and continuing to hire new crewmembers, we hope to have more breathing room in the system to help ease some of the recent delays and cancellations that we've seen in the industry," a JetBlue spokesperson told the outlet. 

Southwest Airlines, the world's largest low-cost carrier, cut more than 8,000 domestic flights in June "to adjust to capacity," the company told The Business Journals. 

Delta  "temporarily cut" some Labor Day weekend flights from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and New York's LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports to deal with a large number of airline crew members and air traffic controllers who have already called in sick, The Washington Times reported.

Giving passengers more notice. All the airlines are making a concerted effort to give passengers as much information as possible, Slotnick said, through text updates and other notifications.

"Even a year before the pandemic, airlines were trying to be proactive about informing passengers, even 24 or 48 hours in advance of a possible cancellation," he said.

Offering waivers
United, Delta and other carriers are offering travel waivers to passengers to encourage them to move their flights out of busy time periods. All waiving the usual flight-change fees and some are even foregoing the usual fare difference.

The Department of Transportation has stepped in to hold airlines accountable

On Sept. 1, the U.S. Department of Transportation launched a new website that lets fliers know what they're entitled to when their flight is significantly delayed or canceled. The Aviation Consumer Protection site has a dashboard that compares what policies are regarding rebooking, meal and hotel vouchers and complimentary ground transportation for carriers including Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit and United.

The Transportation Department's Air Consumer Dashboard compares offerings from major carriers.

Department of Transportation

"Passengers deserve transparency and clarity on what to expect from an airline when there is a cancelation or disruption," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. "This dashboard collects that information in one place so travelers can easily understand their rights, compare airline practices, and make informed decisions."

Buttigieg said the goal was to get the airlines to "raise the bar."

"Look, Americans have had experiences with cancellations, delays and poor customer service that just aren't at an acceptable level," he told NPR. "A lot of the airlines are not quite transparent about how and when they'll take care of passengers. "So we're going to put that information out ourselves."

Just knowing that information is out there for air travelers to see has spurred carriers to improve their offerings, Buttigieg added. 

The Department is also collecting comments on a proposed rule requiring airlines to proactively inform passengers about their right to a refund. It would also provide a clearer definition of a "significant change" to a scheduled flight and require airlines to provide non-expiring vouchers to passengers unable to fly because they contracted COVID-19 or other communicable diseases.

The proposal would also mandate carriers that receive pandemic assistance issue those passengers refunds instead of vouchers.

Are any airlines better or worse in terms of cancellations?

In 2021, Delta had the fewest cancellations of any major US airline.

Boarding1Now

Without naming names, Slotnick says that, broadly speaking, low-cost airlines have tighter margins with less slack, so theoretically you're more likely to face a cancellation.

But booking with a big carrier doesn't mean you're immune.

"The regionals have parked a lot of planes because they don't have enough staff," Bangs said. "And a lot of people who book on a major airline don't realize they're actually flying with a smaller carrier."

SkyWest, a smaller airline out of St. George, Utah, subcontracts for Delta, United, American and Alaska Airlines. So does Indiana-based Republic Airways.

Sometimes, bigger is indeed better: Last year, Delta had the best record in cancellation rates, according to The Wall Street Journal's annual airline rankings. The Atlanta-based airline scrubbed 0.6% of its scheduled departures in 2021, a third of the industry average of 1.8%.

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Netflix Adds 'Two Thumbs Up' Rating for Content You Absolutely Love

Netflix Adds 'Two Thumbs Up' Rating for Content You Absolutely Love

Even the savviest Netflix users may occasionally find themselves stuck in a recommendation conundrum. Because you watched that one British crime drama from 2017 and gave it a thumbs-up, you can't escape the algorithm. If you liked it, Netflix suggests other titles in the genre that fill up an entire row. Now the streaming service wants to take things a step further.

On April 11, the streaming service rolled out its Two Thumbs Up feature, which is a way to double up on your enthusiasm for a TV show or movie. Currently, the basic thumbs-up and thumbs-down options signal that you either want to see similar content or send it to the trash pile. You like it or you don't. Netflix tailors your recommendations based on these ratings, your viewing history and how and when you watch.

Let Netflix know what you want with the new Two Thumbs Up option.

Netflix

But when you click Two Thumbs Up, you'll be declaring your love for a particular title on the platform, and Netflix will sharpen its recommendation system for you. How does it work, exactly? As an example, the streamer says, "If you loved Bridgerton, you might see even more shows or films starring the cast" or from Shondaland, the production company behind the show. That means if you really dug Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, expect to see content suggestions featuring Tituss Burgess or comedies with quirky characters.

This rating feature is available whether you're streaming Netflix on a TV, mobile device or web browser. Once you click on the thumb icon to rate a title, you'll see the Two Thumbs Up option with a feedback message that says, "We know you're a true fan!" No need to email Netflix or figure out any of its hidden settings in order to tell the company how you really feel.

Netflix eliminated its five-star rating system back in 2017 and changed it to the more simplified thumb signal to express approval or disapproval. In addition to the personal preferences you choose when you first set up your profile, the thumb ratings help refine which titles best reflect your taste. The platform's algorithms also take into account the popularity of certain titles overall when suggesting your next favorite binge or movie. With this added feature, you can try taking your customization power to the next level.

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You need to try these new Apple Watch 7 features

You need to try these new Apple Watch 7 features

After setting up your new Apple Watch Series 7 that you got this holiday season and pairing it with your iPhone, it's time to check out all the new features and tweak a few settings to make the most of your new Watch. The Apple Watch Series 7 comes with a larger screen, faster charging and a more durable design. That might not sound as exciting as the blood oxygen sensor that debuted in last year's Series 6. (Here's how the Apple Watch 7 compares to the Apple Watch 6.) But the Series 7's new features have the potential to add more convenience to a lot of everyday tasks, from checking the time to resp onding to texts and tracking your sleep. 

Apple unveiled the $399 Apple Watch Series 7 during its product launch event on Sept. 14 alongside the iPhone 13 family, a refreshed iPad Mini, and a new entry-level iPad. The new Apple Watch is a light update to the Series 6 that's ideal for people looking to replace a watch that's several years old.

Read more: Apple Watch 7 review: A slight upgrade compared to last year's smartwatch

If you're considering the Apple Watch Series 7 or already bought one, here's a breakdown of what's new and why it matters. You can also check out all the Apple Watch Series 8 rumors we've heard so far.

Apple Watch Series 7 has a QWERTY keyboard

The Apple Watch Series 7 should be easier to type on. 

Apple

The Apple Watch has a new QWERTY keyboard that takes advantage of its larger screen, which is about 20% bigger than the Series 6, allowing you to type similarly to how you would on a phone.

What's new: A full-size keyboard means that you aren't limited to sending a canned response to a text, scribbling a quick note or dictating a message, as is the case with the Apple Watch Series 6.

How you'll use it: The Apple Watch Series 7's QWERTY keyboard lets you tap each key to type, or use Apple's QuickPath feature to swipe between letters without lifting your finger. You'll still want to use your phone for messages longer than a short sentence, but it still generally makes it easier to text using the watch.

The bottom line: The Series 7's QWERTY keyboard makes it easier to send longer and more complex messages that are uncomfortable to scribble or too private to dictate. It's another example of how the Apple Watch has evolved to become better at working independently of your phone in the years since its launch. 

Third-party Apple Watch apps like FlickType already allow you to type on your Apple Watch, but having it as a native option on the watch results in a smoother experience. It also means watch owners won't have to rely on third parties for this potentially vital tool, which is important considering some keyboard apps have been accused of participating in App Store rating scams.

Read more: Apple Watch 7 upgrade: How to trade in your old watch to get the best deals

Larger screen on the Apple Watch Series 7 amps up reading

The Apple Watch Series 7's larger screen can fit more text.

Apple/Screenshot by Sarah Tew/CNET

The Series 7 is Apple's first major redesign since the Series 4 launched in 2018. The new watch comes in 41-millimeter and 45mm sizes for the first time, representing a shift away from the 40mm and 44mm sizes that were available on the Series 4 through Series 6. 

What's new: The Apple Watch Series 7's screen is about 20% larger than the Series 6's and more than 50% bigger than the Series 3's. The borders that frame the screen are also 40% smaller than those of the Series 6, allowing Apple to expand the screen size without making the device much larger. But don't worry, older watch bands are still compatible with the Series 7. 

How you'll use it: The Series 7's larger screen makes it better at its most important job: showing information that's easy to see at a glance so that you don't have to grab your phone. The larger screen means the Series 7 is capable of displaying 50% more text without having to scroll, making reading text messages, emails and notifications more convenient. 

There's more: Apple also updated the user interface in its apps to make better use of that larger screen. Apps like the stopwatch, activity and timer now have larger buttons, meaning it's easier to hit snooze even when you're still half asleep. You also get specific watch faces that are optimized for the Series 7's bigger display, such as a new version of the Modular face that can fit complications with more information. I've been using this new watch face to see my activity progress, the time and weather forecast at a glance.

And don't forget, WatchOS 8 introduces the ability to set Portrait mode photos as your watch face, and the Series 7's larger screen is better able to show them off.

Read more: Apple Watch Series 7 vs. Series 6: The biggest changes coming in Apple's new smartwatch

A brighter screen in always-on mode

Apple/Screenshot by Sarah Tew/CNET

Apple also updated the Apple Watch's display in a different way by making the screen more visible in always-on mode. It's another addition that makes it even faster to get quick bits of information from your watch. 

What's new: The Apple Watch Series 7's screen is up to 70% brighter in always-on mode when your wrist is down, according to Apple. However, Apple specifically says this applies to indoor usage.

How you'll use it: The Series 7's improved brightness means it is even easier to see information like the time, your activity rings and your next meeting without having to wake the watch's screen. It feels like a step toward making the Apple Watch's screen appear the same whether it's asleep or in use, and doing so creates a more seamless look that doesn't feel jarring when switching between awake and idle mode. 

To use this feature, you'll want to make sure the always-on display setting is turned on in the Apple Watch's settings menu. On your Apple Watch's app screen, press the settings icon, scroll down to Display & Brightness and tap Always On. From there, make sure the switch next to Always On is toggled on. 

What about battery life? You could also choose to keep this feature turned off if you want to maximize battery life, and Apple hasn't said whether the brighter always-on screen will affect the watch's power consumption. I've been wearing the Apple Watch Series 7 daily with the always-on display setting turned on, and it typically lasts for about a day and a half. But battery life will always vary depending on your usage, and activities like using GPS connectivity while running will cause it to drain faster. 

Read more: Best Apple Watch accessories

Apple Watch Series 7 charges faster than Series 6 

The Apple Watch Series 7 should charge 33% faster than the Series 6.

Apple/Screenshot by Sarah Tew/CNET

The Apple Watch Series 7's battery lasts as long as the Series 6, but the amount of time it takes to charge your watch has dipped. 

What's new: The Apple Watch Series 7 can charge up to 33% faster than the Apple Watch Series 6, according to Apple. It takes 45 minutes to charge from zero to 80%, and 8 minutes of charging should enable 8 hours of sleep tracking. In CNET's testing of the new Apple Watch, reviewers found this to be true. Charging the Watch for at least 30 minutes made the battery jump from zero to 54%. In comparison, the Series 6 only replenished 37% in the same amount of time. 

How you'll use it: We've been asking for more battery life out of the Apple Watch for years, but that's especially relevant now that Apple has added native sleep tracking to its smartwatches. Rather than extending the watch's battery life, Apple makes it easier to quickly charge the watch during short windows throughout the day, presumably so that you don't have to charge it overnight. The idea is that you'll be able to top off the watch's battery whenever you have a few spare minutes.

The bottom line: The Apple Watch Series 7's faster charging speed is another way in which Apple is trying to make its smartwatch a more capable sleep tracker. In addition to making the Series 7 easier to charge in a pinch, Apple also added the ability to measure respiratory rate during sleep with its WatchOS 8 update. Taken together, these improvements could help Apple catch up to Fitbit, which offers multiday battery life on its watches and more in-depth sleep metrics. 

Read more: Best Apple Watch bands for 2021

The Apple Watch Series 7 has a brawnier build

The Apple Watch Series 7 comes with tougher crystal and is dust resistant. 

Apple/Screenshot by Sarah Tew/CNET

Exercise tracking has become one of Apple's biggest areas of focus for the Apple Watch. The Series 7 is more suitable for outdoor activity since Apple claims it has a more durable build. 

What's new: The Apple Watch Series 7 is rated for IP6X dust resistance (a first) and is coated in a crystal cover that Apple says is 50% thicker than that of the Apple Watch Series 6. That means you'll feel at ease wearing it to the beach or during a hike. 

How you'll use it: The Series 7's increased durability pairs nicely with the new cycling features in WatchOS 8. The new software brings an updated version of fall detection that Apple says can tell the difference between falling off a bicycle and a different type of accident. Apple also says WatchOS 8 can automatically detect outdoor cycling workouts. (See Lexy Savvides' test of the new Apple Watch cycling features here.)

The bottom line: We put Apple Watch Series 7's durability to the test. Those who want a truly rugged watch have military-grade options from Garmin and Casio to choose from, or could opt for a rugged Apple Watch case. But these updates suggest Apple is trying to push the Apple Watch beyond basic workouts and appeal to those who might need a more durable watch for activities like rock climbing. That's the premise behind the rumored Explorer Edition, which Bloomberg reports will come with greater impact resistance and could launch in 2022.

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TikTok Parents Are Taking Advantage of Their Kids. It Needs to Stop

TikTok Parents Are Taking Advantage of Their Kids. It Needs to Stop

Rachel Barkman's son started accurately identifying different species of mushroom at the age of 2. Together they'd go out into the mossy woods near her home in Vancouver and forage. When it came to occasionally sharing in her TikTok videos her son's enthusiasm and skill for picking mushrooms, she didn't think twice about it -- they captured a few cute moments, and many of her 350,000-plus followers seemed to like it.

That was until last winter, when a female stranger approached them in the forest, bent down and addressed her son, then 3, by name and asked if he could show her some mushrooms. 

"I immediately went cold at the realization that I had equipped complete strangers with knowledge of my son that puts him at risk," Barkman said in an interview this past June. 

This incident, combined with research into the dangers of sharing too much, made her reevaluate her son's presence online. Starting at the beginning of this year, she vowed not to feature his face in future content. 

"My decision was fueled by a desire to protect my son, but also to protect and respect his identity and privacy, because he has a right to choose the way he is shown to the world," she said.

These kinds of dangers have cropped up alongside the rise in child influencers, such as 10-year-old Ryan Kaji of Ryan's World, who has almost 33 million subscribers, with various estimates putting his net worth in the multiple tens of millions of dollars. Increasingly, brands are looking to use smaller, more niche, micro- and nano-influencers, developing popular accounts on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube to reach their audiences. And amid this influencer gold rush there's a strong incentive for parents, many of whom are sharing photos and videos of their kids online anyway, to get in on the action. 

The increase in the number of parents who manage accounts for their kids -- child influencers' parents are often referred to as "sharents" -- opens the door to exploitation or other dangers. With almost no industry guardrails in place, these parents find themselves in an unregulated wild west. They're the only arbiters of how much exposure their children get, how much work their kids do, and what happens to money earned through any content they feature in.

"Once public engagement happens, it is very hard, if not impossible, to really put meaningful boundaries around it."

Leah Plunkett, author, Sharenthood

Instagram didn't respond to multiple requests for comment about whether it takes any steps to safeguard child influencers. A representative for TikTok said the company has a zero-tolerance approach to sexual exploitation and pointed to policies to protect accounts of users under the age of 16. But these policies don't apply to parents posting with or on behalf of their children. YouTube didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

"When parents share about their children online, they act as both the gatekeeper -- the one tasked with protecting a child's personal information -- and as the gate opener," said Stacey Steinberg, a professor of law at the University of Florida and author of the book Growing Up Shared. As the gate opener, "they benefit, gaining both social and possibly financial capital by their online disclosures."

The reality is that some parents neglect the gatekeeping and leave the gate wide open for any internet stranger to walk through unchecked. And walk through they do.

Meet the sharents

Mollie is an aspiring dancer and model with an Instagram following of 122,000 people. Her age is ambiguous but she could be anywhere from 11-13, meaning it's unlikely she's old enough to meet the social media platform's minimum age requirement. Her account is managed by her father, Chris, whose own account is linked in her bio, bringing things in line with Instagram's policy. (Chris didn't respond to a request for comment.)

You don't have to travel far on Instagram to discover accounts such as Mollie's, where grown men openly leer at preteen girls. Public-facing, parent-run accounts dedicated to dancers and gymnasts -- who are under the age of 13 and too young to have accounts of their own -- number in the thousands. (To protect privacy, we've chosen not to identify Mollie, which isn't her real name, or any other minors who haven't already appeared in the media.)

Parents use these accounts, which can have tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of followers, to raise their daughters' profiles by posting photos of them posing and demonstrating their flexibility in bikinis and leotards. The comment sections are often flooded with sexualized remarks. A single, ugly word appeared under one group shot of several young girls in bikinis: "orgy."

Some parents try to contain the damage by limiting comments on posts that attract too much attention. The parent running one dancer account took a break from regular scheduling to post a pastel-hued graphic reminding other parents to review their followers regularly. "After seeing multiple stories and posts from dance photographers we admire about cleaning up followers, I decided to spend time cleaning," read the caption. "I was shocked at how many creeps got through as followers."

But "cleaning up" means engaging in a never-ending game of whack-a-mole to keep unwanted followers at bay, and it ignores the fact that you don't need to be following a public account to view the posts. Photos of children are regularly reposted on fan or aggregator accounts, over which parents have no control, and they can also be served up through hashtags or through Instagram's discovery algorithms.

The simple truth is that publicly posted content is anyone's for the taking. "Once public engagement happens, it is very hard, if not impossible, to really put meaningful boundaries around it," said Leah Plunkett, author of the book Sharenthood and a member of the faculty at Harvard Law School.

This concern is at the heart of the current drama concerning the TikTok account @wren.eleanor. Wren is an adorable blonde 3-year-old girl, and the account, which has 17.3 million followers, is managed by her mother, Jacquelyn, who posts videos almost exclusively of her child. 

"As kids get older, they naturally want to define themselves on their own terms, and if parents have overshared about them in public spaces, that can be difficult."

Stacey Steinberg, author, Growing Up Shared

Concerned onlookers have pointed Jacquelyn toward comments that appear to be predatory, and have warned her that videos in which Wren is in a bathing suit, pretending to insert a tampon, or eating various foodstuffs have more watches, likes and saves than other content. They claim her reluctance to stop posting in spite of their warnings demonstrates she's prioritizing the income from her account over Wren's safety. Jacquelyn didn't respond to several requests for comment.

Last year, the FBI ran a campaign in which it estimated that there were 500,000 predators online every day -- and that's just in the US. Right now, across social platforms, we're seeing the growth of digital marketplaces that hinge on child exploitation, said Plunkett. She doesn't want to tell other parents what to do, she added, but she wants them to be aware that there's "a very real, very pressing threat that even innocent content that they put up about their children is very likely to be repurposed and find its way into those marketplaces."

Naivete vs. exploitation

When parent influencers started out in the world of blogging over a decade ago, the industry wasn't exploitative in the same way it is today, said Crystal Abidin, an academic from Curtin University who specializes in internet cultures. When you trace the child influencer industry back to its roots, what you find is parents, usually mothers, reaching out to one another to connect. "It first came from a place of care among these parent influencers," she said.

Over time, the industry shifted, centering on children more and more as advertising dollars flowed in and new marketplaces formed. 

Education about the risks hasn't caught up, which is why people like Sarah Adams, a Vancouver mom who runs the TikTok account @mom.uncharted, have taken it upon themselves to raise the flag on those risks. "My ultimate goal is just have parents pause and reflect on the state of sharenting right now," she said. 

But as Mom Uncharted, Adams is also part of a wider unofficial and informal watchdog group of internet moms and child safety experts shedding light on the often disturbing way in which some parents are, sometimes knowingly, exploiting their children online.

The troubling behavior uncovered by Adams and others suggests there's more than naivete at play -- specifically when parents sign up for and advertise services that let people buy "exclusive" or "VIP" access to content featuring their children.

Some parent-run social media accounts that Adams has found linked out to a site called SelectSets, which lets the parents sell photo sets of their children. One account offered sets with titles such as "2 little princesses." SelectSets has described the service as "a classy and professional" option for influencers to monetize content, allowing them to "avoid the stigma often associated with other platforms."

Over the last few weeks, SelectSets has gone offline and no owner could be traced for comment.

In addition to selling photos, many parent-run dancer accounts, Mollie's included, allow strangers to send the dancers swimwear and underwear from the dancers' Amazon wish lists, or money to "sponsor" them to "realize their dream" or support them on their "journeys."

While there's nothing technically illegal about anything these parents are doing, they're placing their children in a gray area that's not explicitly sexual but that many people would consider to be sexualized. The business model of using an Amazon wish list is one commonly embraced by online sugar babies who accept money and gifts from older men.

"Our Conditions of Use and Sale make clear that users of Amazon Services must be 18 or older or accompanied by a parent or guardian," said an Amazon spokesperson in a statement. "In rare cases where we are made aware that an account has been opened by a minor without permission, we close the account."

Adams says it's unlikely to be other 11-year-olds sending their pocket money to these girls so they attend their next bikini modeling shoot. "Who the fuck do you think is tipping these kids?" she said. "It's predators who are liking the way you exploit your child and giving them all the content they need."

Turning points

Plunkett distinguishes between parents who are casually sharing content that features their kids and parents who are sharing for profit, an activity she describes as "commercial sharenting." 

"You are taking your child, or in some cases, your broader family's private or intimate moments, and sharing them digitally, in the hope of having some kind of current or future financial benefit," she said.

No matter the parent's hopes or intentions, any time children appear in public-facing social media content, that content has the potential to go viral, and when it does, parents have a choice to either lean in and monetize it or try to rein it in.

During Abidin's research -- in which she follows the changing activities of the same influencers over time -- she's found that many influencer parents reach a turning point. It can be triggered by something as simple as other children at school being aware of their child's celebrity or their child not enjoying it anymore, or as serious as being involved in a car chase while trying to escape fans (an occurrence recounted to Abidin by one of her research subjects). 

"Frankly, this is all just a large social experiment."

Sarah Adams, who runs the TikTok account @mom.uncharted

One influencer, Katy Rose Pritchard, who has almost 92,000 Instagram followers, decided to stop showing her children's faces on social media this year after she discovered they were being used to create role-playing accounts. People had taken photos of her children that she'd posted and used them to create fictional profiles of children for personal gratification, which she said in a post made her feel "violated."

All these examples highlight the different kinds of threats sharents are exposing their children to. Plunkett describes three "buckets" of risk tied to publicly sharing content online. The first and perhaps most obvious are risks involving criminal and/or dangerous behavior, posing a direct threat to the child. 

The second are indirect risks, where content posted featuring children can be taken, reused, analyzed or repurposed by people with nefarious motives. Consequences include anything from bullying to harming future job prospects to millions of people having access to children's medical information -- a common trope on YouTube is a video with a melodramatic title and thumbnail involving a child's trip to the hospital, in which influencer parents with sick kids will document their health journeys in blow-by-blow detail.

The third set of risks are probably the least talked about, but they involve potential harm to a child's sense of self. If you're a child influencer, how you see yourself as a person and your ability to develop into an adult is "going to be shaped and in some instances impeded by the fact that your parents are creating this public performance persona for you," said Plunkett.

Often children won't be aware of what this public persona looks like to the audience and how it's being interpreted. They may not even be aware it exists. But at some point, as happened with Barkman, the private world in which content is created and the public world in which it's consumed will inevitably collide. At that point, the child will be thrust into the position of confronting the persona that's been created for them.

"As kids get older, they naturally want to define themselves on their own terms, and if parents have overshared about them in public spaces, that can be difficult, as many will already have notions about who that child is or what that child may like," said Steinberg. "These notions, of course, may be incorrect. And some children may value privacy and wish their life stories were theirs -- not their parents -- to tell."

Savannah and Cole LaBrant have documented nearly everything about their children's lives.

Jim Spellman/WireImage

This aspect of having their real-life stories made public is a key factor distinguishing children working in social media from children working in the professional entertainment industry, who usually play fictional roles. Many children who will become teens and adults in the next couple of decades will have to reckon with the fact that their parents put their most vulnerable moments on the internet for the world to see -- their meltdowns, their humiliation, their most personal moments. 

One influencer family, the LaBrants, were forced to issue a public apology in 2019 after they played an April Fools' Day Joke on their 6-year-old daughter Everleigh. The family pretended they were giving her dog away, eliciting tears throughout the video. As a result, many viewers felt that her parents, Sav and Cole, had inflicted unnecessary distress on her.

In the past few months, parents who film their children during meltdowns to demonstrate how to calm them down have found themselves the subject of ire on parenting Subreddits. Their critics argue that it's unfair to post content of children when they're at their most vulnerable, as it shows a lack of respect for a child's right to privacy.

Privacy-centric parenting

Even the staunchest advocates of child privacy know and understand the parental instinct of wanting to share their children's cuteness and talent with the world. "Our kids are the things usually we're the most proud of, the most excited about," said Adams. "It is normal to want to show them off and be proud of them."

When Adams started her account two years ago, she said her views were seen as more polarizing. But increasingly people seem to relate and share her concerns. Most of these are "average parents," naive to the risks they're exposing their kids to, but some are "commercial sharents" too.

Even though they don't always see eye to eye, the private conversations she's had with parents of children (she doesn't publicly call out anyone) with massive social media presences have been civil and productive. "I hope it opens more parents' eyes to the reality of the situation, because frankly this is all just a large social experiment," she said. "And it's being done on our kids. And that just doesn't seem like a good idea."

For Barkman, it's been "surprisingly easy, and hugely beneficial" to stop sharing content about her son. She's more present, and focuses only on capturing memories she wants to keep for herself.

"When motherhood is all consuming, it sometimes feels like that's all you have to offer, so I completely understand how we have slid into oversharing our children," she said. "It's a huge chunk of our identity and our hearts."

But Barkman recognizes the reality of the situation, which is that she doesn't know who's viewing her content and that she can't rely on tech platforms to protect her son. "We are raising a generation of children who have their entire lives broadcast online, and the newness of social media means we don't have much data on the impacts of that reality on children," she said. "I feel better acting with caution and letting my son have his privacy so that he can decide how he wants to be perceived by the world when he's ready and able."

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What States Can and Can't Do When Banning Abortion

What States Can and Can't Do When Banning Abortion

For more information about your reproductive health rights and related federal resources, you can visit the US government's

Reproductive Rights

site.

Whether someone can get an abortion or related medical procedure mostly hinges on which state they live in after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month and ended the constitutional right to abortion. But the switch from federal protection to state law isn't straightforward and has led to confusion and misinformation on what pregnant patients and physicians can do.

In this still developing landscape, how confident can people be that their treatment is still legal?

"The answer to all your questions is 'Who the heck knows,'" said Dr. Louise Perkins King, a surgeon and bioethicist at Harvard Medical School. "And that's the problem."

The US Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance on July 11 reminding physicians of their responsibilities under the existing Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTLA, which supports the need to treat and stabilize patients in an emergency, including pregnant patients who may require an abortion. Days later, Texas sued the Biden administration over the law, which allows for medical assistance to save the life of the mother, because, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said, it "seeks to transform every emergency room in the country into a walk-in abortion clinic." 

On Tuesday, a judge in Texas blocked the EMTLA guidance, so physicians in that state may no longer be protected by federal law if they perform an abortion when they deem it medically necessary but it falls outside of Texas' interpretation of a life-endangering pregnancy. Physicians nationwide who are members of the American Association of Pro-Life Gynecologists and Obstetricians or the Christian Medical and Dental Association are also exempt -- a total of about 18,000 health care providers, according to the court document.

Texas' new trigger law -- which will be in effect on Aug. 25 -- bans all abortions except when the pregnancy puts the mother "at risk of death or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function." Physicians who perform an illegal abortion will be committing a felony. It doesn't make exceptions for rape, incest or fetal abnormalities, and it also doesn't make an exception for when the pregnant person's risk of death would come from a "claim or diagnosis" that they'll be hurt or might die in the future. (This could be interpreted to mean a doctor can't provide an abortion if a woman threatens to die by suicide because she has depression.) All abortions are currently banned in Texas after the state's Supreme Court ruled that a law from the 1920s could stand.

Legal battles within some states will continue to shape post-Roe America, with the landscape changing by the day. And lawsuits like the one in Texas clarify the country's stance on whether state law preempts federal rule on abortion or reproductive health care. Basically, can federal regulations trump state law? 

"There's going to be cases that are going to have to determine this question," I. Glenn Cohen, a professor and bioethicist at Harvard Law School, said. 

The argument over medication abortion access -- which is banned or restricted in many states but still available to people if they order it (not without risk) online -- will likely also be one of the first big court cases post-Roe, Cohen said. Questions of whether federal regulations on medication abortion conflict directly enough with state restrictions will continue to be center stage.

Medication abortion, for use in early pregnancy, accounts for more than half of abortions in the US. Restricting the pills is the new frontier of abortion bans.

Robyn Beck/Getty Images

Other federal guidance issued by the Biden administration includes a reminder to pharmacists that they are required to fill medication and birth control prescriptions for patients. Failing to do so is discrimination based on pregnancy status. This was in response to the many reports of women having treatment delayed or prescriptions denied while health care workers try to  navigate around new state laws.

Here's what we know today.

Can states ban abortion pills? Not completely, but some are trying. 

Any state with a current total ban on abortion -- including Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Wisconsin -- also bans medication abortion. Heavy restrictions in other states, including Tennessee and South Carolina, which ban abortion after about six weeks, also extend to medication abortion. This means providers can't prescribe the medication in those states and patients can't fill prescriptions at pharmacies.  

"If a state law bans abortion broadly, that includes medication abortions," Elisabeth Smith, director of state policy and advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights, told MedPage Today.

But abortion bans and state laws seek to punish abortion providers or people who assist them, not the person seeking the abortion (there's reason to believe this might change in the future). For now, people living in the most restrictive states can still order pills from an overseas pharmacy, including Aid Access. However, the pills could take awhile to arrive and potentially put the person past the point of pregnancy for which the medication is safe and effective (about 10 weeks).

Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

The fate of medication abortion pills in Republican-leaning states centers on mifepristone, the first pill given in the two-dose regimen of medication abortion. Because the US Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone as a safe and effective way to end a pregnancy over 20 years ago, states shouldn't be able to restrict it, the US attorney general's office argued the same day Roe was overturned. (Misoprostol, the second pill, is used off-label for abortion and miscarriage treatment. It's also used to treat health conditions such as stomach ulcers.) 

Whether this federal regulation (and the FDA's stamp of approval) supersedes state laws will need to be decided. Cohen said this is likely to be determined by the Supreme Court as "one of the first post-Dobbs cases."

"It's unclear whether that's going to be a winner of an argument, to be perfectly honest," Cohen said.

Last year, the FDA extended a pandemic-era rule that allowed patients to get medication abortion pills through the mail, instead of requiring them to be prescribed in person. This was seen as a victory for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other medical groups, which viewed the in-person requirement as unnecessary for a medication that's safe and effective in early pregnancy.   

But states have their own requirements for medication abortion, and providers licensed in Montana can't prescribe pills to patients who travel over from a restrictive state like South Dakota, NPR reported.

Read more: Worries About Post-Roe Data Privacy Put Spotlight on Period Apps  

Ectopic pregnancies can't result in a delivery and require medical treatment. Symptoms can start with typical pregnancy signs, including a missed period, but can progress to abdominal or pelvic pain, vaginal bleeding, weakness and more. 

Svetlana Gustova/Getty Images

Can states ban treatment for high risk pregnancies? The HHS says no, but doctors say state laws are restricting care.  

Even though the most restrictive states banning abortions leave room for some degree of medical emergency, practicing physicians need to decide where the medical emergency line is – and risk prosecution if a state sees it differently. 

This month, the story of a 10-year-old girl who was raped and pregnant and who traveled to Indiana from Ohio, where abortion is banned around six weeks without exception for rape or incest, made headlines. Not only was the physician publicly questioned by Indiana's attorney general on whether she followed state law, but Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in the aftermath that the girl should've been able to legally get an abortion under the state law's medical emergency exemption. Ohio's OB-GYNs disagreed. 

"It states specifically 'medically diagnosed condition,' and as far as I can tell, adolescent pregnancy is not a medically diagnosed condition that's listed," Dr. Jason Sayat, a Columbus OB-GYN, told the Ohio Capital Journal. 

The Department of Health and Human Services reminded physicians and hospitals that if they want to keep their Medicare agreement and avoid "civil penalties," they must treat pregnant patients and provide abortions if necessary as required under the 1986 Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. The EMTLA, now blocked in Texas, outlines certain life-endangering pregnancies that doctors must treat regardless of state law, including ectopic pregnancies, preeclampsia and complications of pregnancy loss.

But that narrow line of abortion exceptions for medical emergencies given by states like Wisconsin is what's troubling Dr. Jennifer McIntosh, a maternal-fetal medicine physician practicing in the state. While Wisconsin's attorney general said he wouldn't enforce a ban, physicians there stopped performing abortions because the state has a pre-Roe criminal statute that prohibits most abortions. The "save the life of the mother" abortion exception language in that law can leave out health conditions which may not be an immediate emergency but can become one down the line. 

"Some of what we do is to prevent emergencies from happening," McIntosh said. "To have to wait for an emergency to actually appear puts your patient's life at risk."

The treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is termination, because terminating the pregnancy is the only safe outcome when an embryo grows outside of the uterus, typically in a fallopian tube. Without treatment, the fallopian tube is likely to rupture, which can lead to internal bleeding and death. But some laws, like one in Texas, specifically restrict medications including methotrexate, which has led to access problems for people who are pregnant as well as people who are taking methotrexate for another health reason. 

Complicating confusion and risk over how abortion bans will affect treatments for ectopic pregnancies is the fact that more rare types of ectopic pregnancies exist, including ones where the pregnancy is growing inside a C-section scar or other area outside the safety of the main cavity of the uterus -- but still technically in the uterus. These rarer kinds of ectopic pregnancies are also life-threatening, and may be more difficult to diagnose and treat as such in a state that bans abortions with an emphasis on the pregnancy being in the uterus.

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

States are not prosecuting people who have abortions (yet)

Current state laws -- both those in effect and those in limbo in court -- prosecute other people involved in an abortion, not the person who's pregnant. 

But the health impact may be already felt when a doctor is hesitant to treat patients, or pharmacists are reluctant to fill a prescription for mifepristone before interviewing a woman to ascertain whether her pregnancy is already ended and her situation is in line with state law.

"Even in these straightforward cases of basic OB/GYN practice, the laws leave providers questioning and afraid," Dr. Carley Zeal, an OB-GYN in Wisconsin, told The New York Times. "These laws are already hurting my patients."

Aside from hesitancy among health care providers, physicians also fear that worries people have about being prosecuted for having an abortion or miscarriage will stop patients experiencing complications from any kind of pregnancy loss from seeking care. 

That's because it was already happening, before Roe was overturned. According to the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, there were over 1,700 arrests or prosecutions of women from 1973 (when Roe became law) to 2020 where their pregnancies were the focus of the case against them. 

So will doctors report you if they suspect you had an abortion? 

"The vast majority of health care professionals will not do that, because that's not caring for their patients," King said. But, she added, "I'm sure there's a very small, but unfortunately detrimental, minority who might." 

Your current access to birth control shouldn't be impacted by the overturn of Roe v. Wade. However, there's reason to believe that could change in the future.

Carol Yepes/Getty Images

Birth control is still protected under the Affordable Care Act

Right now, IUDs, birth control pills and other birth control methods are legal in all 50 states. And they should also be covered at no out-of-pocket cost for those covered under the Affordable Care Act. The right to birth control is protected under two Supreme Court rulings: Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and Eisenstadt v. Baird. (Another Supreme Court Case, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, chipped away a little of that protection, however, finding that some corporations are exempt for religious reasons.) 

Plan B or "morning after pill" brands are also not included in abortion bans, because they will not end an existing pregnancy. Most health plans should also cover them. 

Legislators in Missouri last year voted to block taxpayer funding for IUDs and emergency contraception, casting doubt that all birth control devices will be protected indefinitely, at least in some states. The claims of legislators like Paul Wieland, a Republican state senator in Missouri, are that anything that has the potential to disrupt a fertilized egg's implantation into the uterus is an abortifacient. 

The medical community has been clear that IUDs and emergency contraception do not cause abortions and will not end an existing pregnancy. Copper IUDs work mostly by causing a chemical change in the sperm and egg before they meet, according to the World Health Organization. Hormonal IUDs like Mirena work mostly by thickening cervical mucus so sperm can't reach the egg, and can also prevent ovulation. Plan B and similar pills likely won't work if a person has already ovulated, meaning the chances of it stopping implantation are currently understood to be slim.

Nevertheless, unlikely occurrences or instances where a fertilized egg may be prevented from implanting into a uterus could be called into question in future court cases.

Read more: Could a Post Roe v. Wade World Impact Your Access to Birth Control?   

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

---

Source

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