How YouTube has become the Pedophile’s Playground
By Movieguide® Contributor
YouTube is quickly becoming the most unsafe place for your children to be.
According to Hootsuite, 70% of YouTube’s views come from the recommended videos that pop up as a result of their carefully curated algorithm.
Unfortunately, this algorithm has enabled “soft” pedophilia to enter into recommended videos. Mashable reports that in February, YouTube removed 400 channels that supported pedophilia as advertisers fled the platform.
Even so, the problem persists.
“This is just part of a larger culture,” says Dr. Michael Brown, a cultural commentator and radio host who holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and literature.
While YouTube can’t seem to tackle the pedophilia problem, the platform is quick to flag Christian material that supports biblical values counter culture to today’s society.
“I get dealt with on every day of the week with my videos posted, just privately it’s instantly flagged,” Brown says.
“It’s just increasing in society that when you have these social media outlets where these sexual predators, mainly men, are looking to connect with children,” Brown says. “Setting up profiles to seduce some kid on Facebook or some guy seducing a 14-year-old girl on Instagram. The opportunities are massif though. It’s tragic; it’s beyond tragic; it’s mind-boggling that this wasn’t the first thing that YouTube is going to police and deal with.”
YouTube may remove several channels and disable content, but the reality is that if they are not vigilant with these cases then the situation will never get better.
“I can’t imagine why the others have had the access they’ve had and be able to do what they’ve done without a massive instant shutdown,” Brown says.
The problem lies within the algorithm. While YouTube isn’t directly supporting child pedophilia, they are supporting revenue. YouTube makes its money through more people watching their videos. If someone were to look up a home video with children running around in swimsuits, YouTube’s next video pop up could be “Sexy Girls running around in water balloon fight.”
The key to fighting this issue is to become tech-savvy and learn what your children are using and why they are using it. Explain to them the media awareness they must have as they roam the playground.
YouTube may not ever become wise, but as Media-WiseⓇ we can fight against wickedness, and still participate in the culture. To help you, please read Dr. Ted Baehr’s books: THE CULTURE WISE FAMILY and THE MEDIA WISE FAMILY.
