North West Makes Instagram Debut as Kanye West and Kim Kardashian Navigate Social Media Boundaries
The 12-year-old posts under her own name with a
North West, the 12-year-old daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, made her Instagram debut on Friday under her own name, marking a rare official step into the family’s social-media footprint. The post featured a stylized, softly blurred image and appeared on an account that the bio says is supervised by her parents. The move comes as Kanye West, who has publicly urged his children off social media, has long clashed with Kardashian over how the kids engage with online platforms.
In the debut post, North is shown in a Balenciaga-style ensemble, wearing a black short-sleeve jersey with the label’s branding, a black ribbed miniskirt, layered necklaces and bracelets, and tall black boots wrapped with silver chains. Her account’s bio notes that the page is managed by parents, but it remains unclear how much influence her father will exert over the content she shares, given his past opposition to the idea of his children being online.
The new account arrives amid years of public back-and-forth between Kardashian and West regarding their children’s online presence. West, who is 48, has repeatedly criticized the idea of children using social media, arguing that the platforms profit from attention and can shape a child’s public image. Kardashian, 45, has taken a more permissive but tightly supervised approach, saying she aims to protect her children while letting them express themselves through modern media.
The tension resurfaced in October after North posted videos on the joint TikTok account she shares with her mother. The clips showed North with bold makeup, blue braids, and indicators of a playful, edgy look, including fake tattoos, a nose piercing, and grillz. Some viewers treated the content as Halloween-inspired, while others argued that it crossed lines for a child to appear with facial modifications and cosmetics that imply more adult themes. A resurfaced 2022 clip in which West lamented his daughter’s social-media presence spread widely on social platforms, renewing debate about parental boundaries.
In response to the public dispute over his daughter’s online activity, Kardashian publicly defended her approach, emphasizing that she is the primary caregiver and that North’s online presence is created with adult supervision and with the family’s safety in mind. The public discussion highlighted the ongoing split in opinion among fans and observers, with some praising West’s protective stance and others arguing that his comments reflect a broader skepticism about the entertainment industry’s influence on young people.
The ongoing dynamic between the two famous parents underscores the broader conversation about how families navigate child participation on social networks. While Kardashian has allowed North a degree of creative expression on supervised platforms, West continues to frame his stance as a protective measure against the potential harms of fame and online scrutiny. The Instagram debut signals a new phase in the family’s engagement with social media, but for now, it remains to be seen how much influence the father will retain as North grows into a public figure.