YouTube is Poison for Our Kids
I know a couple of people who are parents of my generation and of other generations who let their kids watch YouTube unmonitored… so I thought I would write a bit about why this is a very bad thing to do. YouTube has made no (sizable) effort to hold video makers accountable when they abuse the platform in subtly malicious ways and it can have a very bad effect on the populace. So I’ll break down the ways in which YouTube is bad to leave your kids alone with.
1.Unintended Misinformation: I begin with videos which are not necessarily bad on their face but can lead to plenty of situations where they can provide your kids with bad information. For example, there are safety videos (for kids) which are not intended for an american audience so when they go over what kids should do in an emergency, they might tell children when something bad happens get a phone and call 112. No while this information wouldn’t be wrong in say the UK, If for any reason your kid gets it ingrained in their mind that when in an emergency they should be calling 112, instead of the correct 911, a problem will occur. All because of unintended misinformation.
2. Suggested Videos: Let’s say that you leave your kid watching a video about space. A video which you might have totally vetted and made sure it was safe for your kid to watch. Because of YouTube's gross negligence and greed (to push more videos at all cost, which makes them more ad revenue) when that video is over, they pop up suggested videos for the user to click on and resume watching a similar topic… and sure one of those videos might be something made by Carl Sagan, but by sheer statistical odds another video will most likely be something toxic to intelligence. Ranging from wild conspiracy theories like aliens living on the moon or something bound to scare these young minds like a video titled “meteors heading straight to earth” or “sun’s death rays can kill everyone”. And because of YouTube's thirst, you don’t even have to click or tap on them thanks to YT’s insistence on autoplaying the next video they think you should watch. I CAN NOT understate how bad this is for our children. In a moment’s notice they can be fed all kinds of terrible information. It is IMPERATIVE that if you want your kid to watch YouTube you take an absolutely engaged roll and monitor the use for the whole time. YouTube is not set and forget, it’s set and regret.
3. Disguised Videos: There are a string of malicious videos that parents might not be aware of and they are what I call disguised videos. These videos are made by an unknown group or individuals who are creating cartoons or outright stealing cartoon footage and hiding terrible messages in them. For the most part they start as seemingly benign cartoons, but if you continue watching you will find that they go on to include reckless cursing, outright dangerous ideas like racism, hatred, and other things, or outright cartoon violence complete with bloody scenes and the like. I don’t even have to go into detail about why this is bad for your kids. But we as parents need to be aware that just because it looks like a cartoon or even a bugs bunny classic, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have malicious audio or take a turn for the worst.
4. Toy Haul Videos:
These videos have a couple of issues. Some people might not be aware of the concept of consumerism but the gist is an idea which promotes and pushes the populace to shop and buy products with disregard. These toy haul videos which are popular with kids often focus around a kid or kids who turn on the camera and proceed to open and play with a gross amount of toys over and over and over again. A kid who watches these videos my grow into the impression that this is a regular or even good thing to do. This promotion of consumerism can be unhealthy to kids who almost certainly do not know that the (often) the only way that these people are able to buy this amount of toys is ironically because they keep watching these videos (they being the massive audience these channels tend to have). Another issue with these videos are the people filming them. They almost never have a script which sometimes lead to the children featured to say… well, things that kids say. And while this doesn’t necessarily mean they are saying bad things, but more often than not, because these kids themselves are living this unnatural lifestyle you can witness them acting (for lack of a better word) spoiled, which further promotes to your kid a sense of greed and impatience.
There are plenty of other examples and reasons to NEVER let your kids watch YouTube unattended, but what it all boils down to is this. The whole platform is woefully unregulated. From YouTube, the corporation, taking a stance on very few gray areas in video. To the parents and people filming and creating these videos, who have absolutely no one to answer to or to tell them how what they are doing might affect other people. To the kids involved with the filming of videos who could not possibly know better. But I can tell you who can know better, YOU. You as a parent can choose very simply to know better with two easy steps.
Never let your kids watch YouTube alone…
or…
Stop your kids from using the platform altogether.
