How YouTube Plans to Makes Strides in Children’s Entertainment
By Movieguide® Contributor
After being criticized for offering kids loads of low-quality content, YouTube is partnering with the companies behind “Baby Shark” and COCOMELON to deliver content that’s more educational and better for kids’ development.
“The wellbeing of young people on our platform is a top priority at YouTube, and the Youth Digital Wellbeing Initiative builds upon our longstanding efforts. This includes YouTube Kids and supervised experiences,” YouTube CEO Neal Mohan wrote in a blog Tuesday.
The initiative will gather market leaders to create a “unified vision for the development of high quality, age-appropriate content for young people.” The companies involved are “Animaj, Benesse, BouncePatrol, ChuChu TV, CoroCoro Comic, EBS, Japan Football Association, Kedoo, Khan Academy, Leader Entertainment, Mauricio de Sousa Produções, Miraculous Corp, Moonbug, The Pinkfong Company, The Wiggles, TV Cultura and Wildbrain.”
The initiative’s goal is to promote “healthy and enriching content for youth” and “positively shape the online experiences of youth around the world, across a diverse set of languages,” while “actively limiting the reach of low-quality content.”
Mohan didn’t detail what guidelines it will use to determine if content is high or low quality. He did say there will be “greater access” to content that supports media literacy, digital citizenship, learning and development.
RELATED: DOCTOR WARNS YOUTUBE KIDS ISN’T SAFE — HERE’S WHY
“The power of online content to educate, entertain, and connect young people is undeniable,” Mohan said. “To maximize this potential, it’s crucial to harness the strength and impact of local companies leading in content development and distribution for kids. That’s why the Youth Digital Wellbeing Initiative brings together market leaders from around the globe to support a unified vision for the development of high quality, age-appropriate content that can have a positive impact on young people’s lives.”
YouTube recently collaborated with the American Psychological Association to make a parent’s guide for how kids can have quality time online.
The initiative will set age-appropriate defaults for explicit or graphic content, more settings and controls, invest in resources for families, provide crisis resources for topics that may mention suicide or self-harm and encourage content producers to make videos that consider children’s developmental needs.
Moonbug Entertainment’s managing director of platforms and music, Jon Benoy, told Kidscreen, “Millions of families learn and bond through COCOMELON, BLIPPI and our other beloved shows. That’s why we dedicate substantial care and resources to ensure every episode is as enriching as it is entertaining. We’re thrilled to join the Youth Digital Wellbeing Initiative to help positively shape how young kids experience online content around the world.”
READ NEXT: THESE STATISTICS REVEAL JUST HOW POPULAR YOUTUBE IS
- Content: +1Share:
- Content: +2