Are there still people in the world who do not recognize YouTube? YouTube is the world's famous video-viewing site. There are millions of viewers who access the site daily with the viewers' varying from toddlers to old people.
Nowadays, children have different selections of digital entertainment and YouTube is one of them. YouTube appears to be an alternative to traditional TV. Children love to watch videos on the website as the site features all sorts of videos, from toy reviews to Minecraft builds according to The Guardian. Now children have an additional thing to watch on YouTube and these are television programs.
Recently, a YouTube Kids app was even introduced in the UK and Ireland just months after it was released in the US. But the launch of the app triggered questions of motivations and brought up discussions about children and their screen time.
Since children now are more into technology, YouTube created an application that will complement their behavior. The 20 top children's channels shown on the site had gained 5.2 billion views. It proves that millions of children are accessing the site through pc, smart phone, or tablets. One of the app's objectives is to prevent children from watching unsuitable videos, ads and even comments.
The Verge said that the YouTube Kids app uses algorithms that screens inappropriate videos by giving warnings to parents and also removes not fitting comments. YouTube Kids app can be downloaded for free on IOS and Android.
One discussion that came up was about the advertisements shown on the app. The YouTube Kids App showed that a number of companies are now focusing their marketing campaigns on children. A group of concerned consumers called the attention of the Federal Trade Commission to examine the app. YouTube defended saying that ads are carefully filtered and what is shown are only those child-friendly ads. But many are still worried as advertisements can be hypnotizing and influential to children.
YouTube viewers are of all ages, and the numbers of young viewers are undetermined. If used appropriately though YouTube can both be an educational and entertaining platform for children. YouTube may cultivate the young minds to be more creative and to be more appreciative of knowledge. But like anything else, it needs to be used in moderation and parents need to set boundaries for how much time their children should spend on these platforms.