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The Online Mom provides internet technology advice and information to help parents protect their kids, encourage responsible behavior and safely harness the power of technology in the new digital world. Social networking, photo sharing, video games, IM & texting, internet security, cyberbullying, educational resources, the latest on tech hardware, gadgets and software for kids 3-8, tweens and teens, and more.
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Is your child old enough for YouTube?
Everyone knows YouTube, Google's incredibly popular video sharing web site. Various estimates put the number of videos uploaded to the site at well over 100 million and recent Comscore data suggests that over 7 billion YouTube videos are streamed each month in the U.S. alone!
What kind of videos attract such huge numbers? Well, just about anything you can imagine. YouTube is full of crazy stunts, sporting highlights, undiscovered rock bands, outrageous humor and cute pets doing even cuter tricks. It even has a serious side, with news, politics and education attracting an increasing number of uploads and viewers.
But despite its popularity, YouTube remains a risky place for kids. Many videos feature outrageous behavior and gross-out humor that is clearly unsuitable for younger children. And despite YouTube's laudable efforts to keep pornography off the site, sexual content is everywhere – from Lady Gaga's latest uncut video to a step-by-step guide on how to French kiss.
And the problems with YouTube aren't limited to the videos. The overwhelming majority of postings are open to comments from viewers, and they don't hold back! Miley Cyrus' Party In The USA video has been viewed over 71 million times and has registered over 350,000 comments. Sadly, some of the comments are far worse than anything that you will find in a video!
So what should a concerned parent do?
Well, YouTube itself states that children under the age of 13 are not permitted to access the site and that's a good place to start. If there is a video that you think your tween would love to see, then you can always show them that one video and exit the site. (If you have a website or a blog, you can even embed a video there, so they can watch it outside the YouTube environment.)
As your child gets older, or if the clamor to watch a popular video gets too much, you may want to start some supervised sessions. But beware, YouTube is an incredibly complex network of cross-indexed and "recommended" content and you can never be too sure about what will pop up on the 'Related Videos' panel!
As always, any YouTube guidelines that you put into effect in your own house are easily breached when your kids go on play dates or sleepovers. Talk to the parents of your children's friends and work out a common policy.
Your kids will discover YouTube soon enough; make sure it's on your timetable, not theirs.
Do you have a way to control YouTube viewing in your home? Share it with The Online Mom!
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