The Potential of YouTube in Child-Rearing: Pros and Cons

Benefits of YouTube in Child-Rearing

YouTube offers various benefits in child-rearing. Here are some of the most significant advantages:

• Education: YouTube has a vast library of educational content that can be used to supplement traditional learning methods. Many YouTubers create educational videos on a wide range of topics, such as science, math, and history. These videos are often engaging and fun, which can help children learn and retain information.
• Entertainment: YouTube can be an excellent source of entertainment for children, providing them with a vast selection of cartoons, shows, and music videos. Children can watch their favorite shows and songs on-demand, which can be helpful for busy parents who need to keep their children entertained.
• Social Interaction: YouTube can also help children develop social skills, as they can interact with other children and YouTubers through comments and community pages. This can be especially helpful for children who have social anxiety or difficulty making friends in real life.
• Diversity: YouTube offers a diverse range of content, which can help children learn about different cultures, languages, and lifestyles. This exposure to diversity can help children develop empathy and respect for others.

Drawbacks of YouTube in Child-Rearing

Despite its benefits, YouTube can also have some drawbacks in child-rearing. Here are some of the most significant disadvantages:

• Inappropriate Content: YouTube’s vast library of content means that some videos may not be appropriate for children. According to the article “YouTubers Not madeForKids: Detecting Channels Sharing Inappropriate Videos Targeting Children” by Myrsini Gkolemi, Panagiotis Papadopoulos, Evangelos Markatos, Nicolas Kourtellis, published in WebSci ’22: 14th ACM Web Science Conference 2022 “many of these videos have been found to be inappropriate for consumption by their target audience, due to disturbing, violent, or sexual scenes” [1]. 
• Parents need to be aware of the content their children are watching, as some videos may contain violence, sexual content, or other inappropriate material.
• Addiction: The article “Facebook and YouTube addiction: The usage pattern of Malaysian students” by Sedigheh Moghavvemi, Ainin Binti Sulaiman, Noor Ismawati Binti Jaafar, Nafisa Kasem states that 22% of YouTube users are addicted, and they spend more than two hours on YouTube per day [2].
• YouTube can be addictive, especially for children who may become easily engrossed in videos. Parents need to set limits on screen time and ensure that their children are not spending too much time on YouTube.
• Cyberbullying: YouTube’s comment section can be a breeding ground for cyberbullying, as children may receive negative comments from other users. Parents need to monitor their children’s online activity and teach them how to deal with cyberbullying. According to research cited in the article “Hate, Obscenity, and Insults: Measuring the Exposure of Children to Inappropriate Comments in YouTube” by Sultan Alshamrani, Ahmed Abusnaina, Mohammed Abuhamad, Daehun Nyang, David Mohaisen the authors found 11% of the comments on children’s videos to be toxic, highlighting the importance of monitoring comments, particularly on children’s platforms [3].
• False Information: Some videos on YouTube may contain false or misleading information, which can be harmful to children’s education. For example, in a study of informational videos for children about COVID-19, the authors of “YouTube as a source of information about COVID-19 for children: Content quality, reliability, and audience participation analysis” found that 43.9% of the videos were misleading. Parents need to ensure that the educational content their children are watching is accurate and aligned with educational standards [4].

Despite its disadvantages, YouTube is one of the most promising platforms in child development and it will be an excellent assistant and companion to parents in their upbringing.

In turn, the Pastory team wants to create an effective and safe environment for each child and, depending on their personal qualities and interests, to develop the potential available.

We have gathered our expertise, resources and knowledge to develop an app that helps parents minimise these disadvantages and customise YouTube feed in such a way that the child spends time in front of the digital screens profitably.

Conclusion

YouTube can be a useful tool in child-rearing, providing children with educational content, social interaction, and exposure to diversity. However, parents need to be aware of the potential drawbacks of YouTube, such as inappropriate content, addiction, cyberbullying, and false information. By setting limits on screen time, monitoring online activity, and evaluating the content their children are watching, parents can harness the potential of YouTube in child-rearing while minimizing its drawbacks.

The Pastory app will be a useful tool for parents to help realise the potential of the video hosting service as an educational platform.

Links

1. Gkolemi M. et al. YouTubers Not madeForKids: Detecting Channels Sharing Inappropriate Videos Targeting Children, 2022. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3501247.3531556 
2. Moghavvemi S. et al. Facebook and YouTube addiction: the usage pattern of Malaysian students, 2017. ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8002516 
3. Alshamrani S. et al. Hate, obscenity, and insults: Measuring the exposure of children to inappropriate comments in youtube, 2021. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3442442.3452314 
4. Azak M. et al. YouTube as a source of information about COVID-19 for children: Content quality, reliability, and audience participation analysis, 2022.  sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0882596321002049