Parents should delete the youtube kids app because it contains manipulated and inappropriate content, the ads, and autoplay feature can be dangerous for kids, it leads to violent behavior, and sometimes addiction, and it can cause stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
We are living in a time and age when the popularity of YouTube is skyrocketing like never before. With a wide range of viewing content available at every click, there is no shortage of entertainment to our eyes. If YouTube is for adults, there is another version called the YouTube kids app which is supposedly safer for kids or that is what most parents presume. Most parents have busy schedules throughout the day and hence assuming YouTube kids to be a safe app, leave their kids with it. Kids use it to find out information, find and learn games, and also entertainment. But beware; the YouTube kids app might not be as innocent as it looks.
7 Reasons Every Parent Should Delete Youtube Kids App Now
Manipulated content
In recent times many parents across the globe have reported having come across content that is manipulated from popular kid’s shows. Inappropriate content involving violence, drug usage, and sex are reported to be inserted in most sought-after kid’s shows such as Peppa pig, Shin-chan, Frozen, etc. Although the YouTube kids app claims to be kids friendly, around 400 hours of video are uploaded every minute. Thus, evaluating the content carefully is proving to be difficult for the company.
The auto-loading feature could be dangerous
YouTube or YouTube kids app both have auto-loading features posing great danger regarding what your child could be viewing. Even if your child is watching an innocent-looking animated series, there are more chances for her/him to come across totally unrelated content. The content could be completely unrelated to the original search. All this could happen within a matter of seconds. Since YouTube kids is user-uploaded it is almost impossible to scrutinize every single video.
The YouTube kid’s algorithm keeps suggesting videos
Even if your child’s original search is about cartoons, games, or rhymes, the YouTube kids algorithm keeps suggesting videos. It takes you to the endless road of videos with the same content. Slowly it deviates to other contents that might not be appropriate to their age. With a plethora of videos being uploaded every single minute, it becomes extremely difficult for YouTube kid’s to keep filtering.
Leads to addiction
Social media safety experts believe that YouTube kids could be absolutely addictive. With a wide range of content available, kids can get carried away easily. Digital addiction is highly detrimental to their young impressionable minds. With the autoplay features available it becomes difficult to come out of it.
This leads to unsafe behavior
At the beginning of 2019 YouTube challenges were trending. Who can forget the ‘Momo Challenge’? Then there are other bizarre challenges like ‘the mannequin challenge’, ‘make your own slime challenge’, ‘shell on challenge’ etc. In a particular challenge called the choking challenge, kids went to the extent of choking other kids or pressing hard on their chest to make them faint. These social media stunts lead to unsafe behaviors in kids causing serious damage. Kids assume internet personalities as their role models and try to copy them. So watching other kids doing strange stuff on the internet can highly influence your kid.
Ads affect young children
Commercial content can have a highly negative impact on your kid’s psyche. Most ads are usually inappropriate for children. The ads are usually of junk food, cars, movies, etc. Not only are these annoying but also affect the young minds of children. Although the ads displayed on YouTube kid’s channels are limited yet they are not welcome.
Causes stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues
YouTube kids promote endless nonsensical content packed with childish repeating rhymes and sound effects to attract children. Contents like toy unboxing videos, weird challenges, and loads of promotional ads only serve to disturb their young minds. Kids still do not know to filter right from wrong. Their immature minds absorb anything and everything that is presented to them unconditionally. Neither do they have the maturity to process the amount of information that is presented to them. Hence, it causes unnecessary stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues in them.
Conclusion
In the times of digital media when a huge amount of visual content is available uncensored, parents face the huge challenge of safeguarding their children from the evils of digital media. Managing the watch time and content is solely the responsibility of parents. Even better it is good to delete the YouTube kids app altogether because the bad effects outnumber the good ones.
References
https://www.todaysparent.com/family/family-life/why-i-deleted-the-youtube-kids-app/
https://www.consumerreports.org/child-safety/will-google-remove-kids-videos-from-youtube/
https://www.change.org/p/remove-youtube-kids-app-until-it-eliminates-its-inappropriate-content
