- Outcomes
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- help parents and carers to understand potential risks of using YouTube
- advise on actions that can be taken to help safeguard children
- Service Description
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YouTube is an extremely popular online video sharing platform. It is the second largest search engine behind Google. There is a vast range of content available through the platform, including:
- tutorials
- comedy sketches
- music
- gaming videos
- pranks
- educational videos
Some content could be harmful to viewers. YouTube has an age rating of 13 and over. Viewers under the age of 13 should be encouraged to use YouTube Kids instead of YouTube. There is increased likelihood that content available through this version will be age-appropriate.
The risks of YouTube
Some of the potential risks young people may encounter through YouTube include:
- bullying and threats of violence
- abuse in the comments section
- exposure to strong language
- false information
- inappropriate and upsetting content, such as:
- pornography
- hate crime
- suicide
- self-harm
It is therefore important to discuss the potential dangers with your young person. This will prepare them in case they encounter such situations themselves. Here are some of our tips:
- initiate age restrictions and parental locks on devices that access the internet. Set up privacy features and make use of YouTube’s ‘restricted mode’. This will limit exposure to inappropriate content and help to minimise the risks for your young person
- discuss your household rules and expectations for how they should behave online. Such as:
- being kind to other users
- not posting abusive comments
- remind young people about the potential dangers of sharing personal information online, such as:
- school name
- location
- set screentime limits and try to keep technology outside of bedrooms. Watching YouTube in the same room as a trusted adult is recommended. This way you can manage what your child sees, and they can easily access help and support when needed
- charge devices downstairs. This is safer in terms of minimising fire risk in the home. It also ensures your young person is not distracted by their technology when it is time to sleep
- talk to your child about fake news. Make sure they understand that not everything that they hear and see online is factual. Some young people lack skills needed to assess the reliability of online sources. They will often adopt opinions and beliefs of their favourite YouTubers. These aren’t always helpful or based on facts from experts. Support young people in developing critical analysis and reasoning skills through:
- discussion
- encouraging them to fact-check using reliable sources
- there are many prank videos on YouTube. Young people can find this funny, and might consider copying. Remind your child not to copy everything they see online. Highlight the importance of safety and gaining consent before filming others and pranking people. Otherwise, it can lead to risky behaviours resulting in injury and, or upset
- many popular YouTubers will be paid by brands to promote products on their channel. This can lead to fans wanting to buy the products. Explain to young people that this is for the influencer’s financial gain. It does not necessarily mean the product is as good as they may be led to believe
- some YouTubers post dramatic response videos in hope of gaining views. They can heavily criticise other influencers. This can lead to arguments. This is often referred to as ‘roasting’ other people. It does not tend to model the skills needed for a respectful disagreement. Viewers often learn bad behaviours from the conduct of influencers. Remind your child that things online are often dramatised for views and money. Remind them to be mindful of how they are communicating with other people both online and in person
For further information about the risks of YouTube, visit How are YouTubers influencing children? | Internet Matters.
YouTube parental controls
Utilise parental controls, including enabling ‘restricted mode’ and setting up supervised accounts. This can help to safeguard young YouTube users. For step-by-step instructions (with photos) on how to set up YouTube parental controls, please visit YouTube parental controls - Internet Matters.
This guide explains how to:
- set up a supervised account
- update parental controls
- monitor your child’s YouTube activity to gain insight into what they watch
- delete a YouTube account
- turn on restricted mode
Restricted mode can be turned on by the account holder:
- using your child’s account, click on their profile icon
- in the menu, click ‘restricted mode’
- to turn it on, press the toggle. If it displays as blue, restricted mode is turned on and will filter out mature content that may pose potential harm to your child
Some adult content and inappropriate videos may make it past YouTube’s filtration algorithm. When reported by users, human monitors can then filter them, so they are longer available to younger audiences.