Youtube needs no introduction. Everyone young and small has heard of this website and currently it is one of the main sources of entertainment for a lot of people. Youtube is a site that offers many experiences, this means that some videos are aimed towards more mature audiences. Although there is an age restriction on videos like those, the system isn’t perfect and said videos can make it to your children. For example, it is reasonable to assume that a parent wouldn’t want their children to watch a movie or a videogame rated for mature audiences, but clips can make their way to a child’s feed. Additionally, the comments of youtube videos that are meant for kids could have foul language or scams that a parent wouldn’t want their children exposed to.
After learning about the possible dangers of Youtube, a parent might consider using Youtube Kids, which is suppose to be a safer way for kids to enjoy Youtube content by only allowing
Videos that are meant for kids. Unfortunately, that is not the case and even on this platform inappropriate content may seep through to this platform. The best way to protect children from these things is to supervise what they are watching to make sure they are not exposed to anything inappropriate. Although a very important thing you have to make sure is not to blame the child for what they potentially see. The people who make this content manipulate the algorithm to prey on children, so it is not their fault, but instead they need support to avoid this more mature content even if they come across it. An example of this is Elsagate, in which creators make content that children should avoid.
The worst part of everything here are child predators. By means described above, either by commenting on children’s videos or using their influence as content creators, they try to get in contact with children. It is very important to avoid these types of people and to educate children to not trust people online, and be wary of strangers in general.