A YouTuber who spent years filming her young daughter in hopes of making her a star has admitted she now bitterly regrets putting her child online.
Shayla Walker, of Los Angeles, initially set up a video blog with boyfriend Landon McBroom after high school to record milestone moments throughout their relationship.
The couple welcomed daughter Soline in 2019 and she quickly became a regular fixture on their channel titled This Is L&S, where they share constant insights into family life.
Shyala, now 25, who said she was ‘naive’ about the internet at the time, has since revealed that she is quitting the industry altogether.
Shayla Walker of Los Angeles originally set up a video blog with boyfriend Landon McBroom after high school to record milestone moments throughout their relationship.
The couple welcomed daughter Soline in 2019 and she quickly became a regular fixture on their channel titled This L&S, where they share constant insights into family life.
Shayla was first introduced to the world of family blogging by Landon’s brother Austin — who has amassed more than 18 million subscribers on his controversial channel The Ace Family.
After launching their own account, she and Landon shared milestone events, including footage from inside the delivery room shortly after giving birth.
The couple began releasing three videos a week, with Shayla telling Insider: ‘Content was an everyday part of our lives. I would say like having a cup of coffee. You don’t see your life in terms of moments, you see it in terms of content.’
They’ve shared clips for three years, and at the top of the channel the channel has a following of more than three million subscribers – giving an insight into Soline’s birthdays, first steps and other important moments.
But for all the content – apart from the delivery clip and a piece to camera from Shayla announcing that the channel is shutting down – the mother admits that family life is evolving into a performance.
She said: ‘I didn’t want to look back at my daughter’s first steps and these monumental moments and realize that no one was authentic in that moment because everyone was so focused on creating this image for what the internet wanted. See you.’
Surprisingly, Shyala revealed that Solin, when she was just three years old, started pushing away when the camera was pointed at her.
Shyla begins to believe that the constant filming is making the young man uncomfortable and, at the same time, becomes increasingly aware of the dangers of uploading a child’s photos online.
After launching their own account, she and Landon shared milestone events, including footage from inside the delivery room shortly after giving birth.
They’ve been sharing clips for three years, and at their peak had more than three million subscribers following them – giving an insight into Solin’s birthdays, first steps and other important moments.
He told the publication: ‘I wish I had known sooner how innocent things could be used in such an innocent way.
‘I would post innocent pictures of her in a bikini, and now when I look back I just cringe because I feel like I was basically feeding her to child predators.
‘People getting access to my daughter and knowing where she was and all these other details about her was scary and eye-opening.’
In May 2021, Shyla announced that the channel would no longer run in the original format.
In a video, which is still available, he said: ‘Like other people we go through things and grow – personally I’m healing physically, spiritually, mentally you name it…
‘So far this L&S is gone and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.’
In May 2021, Shyla announced that the channel would no longer run in the original format
The couple both signed a confidentiality agreement that doesn’t allow either of them to share pictures of Solin’s face on social media, the publication claims.
He said that Landon would focus on boxing and that he would produce the content himself.
Shyla and Landon later broke up, and the growing interest and speculation surrounding the split proved to be the final wake-up call.
She admitted: ‘I thought, well, if I’m ever going to prioritize her safety and well-being, I’ve got to do it now.’
The couple both signed a confidentiality agreement that does not allow either of them to share pictures of Solin’s face on social media, the publication claims.
Sheila’s decision to step away from the industry completely has been met with backlash from ‘entitled’ fans but she has revealed that she doesn’t regret it.
‘As a mother, it’s a place for my daughter to reaffirm boundaries and stand up for her rights and her privacy,’ she said.
Instead, Skylar, who now has over 1.4 million followers on Instagram, is now working on a mini-series for her own channel.