Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube • Hacker News Board

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#21

Post by ashark » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 5:18 PM UTC

Are there any good medium- to long-form recent works with valuable insight into the modern phenomenon of hyper-availble multimedia? Psychological, sociological, political effects, any of that? I'm reading DFW's part-literature-review part-independent-thesis "E Unibus Pluram"[1] and read his "Host" a little while back, and find myself wanting more recent examinations/criticism of our media culture of similar quality.

[1] https://jsomers.net/DFW_TV.pdf (I don't know whether this is the same as the version collected in A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again)

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#22

Post by pchristensen » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 5:19 PM UTC

strictnein wrote: post #7

option wrote: post #2

Kids aged 2 and 3 should watch any content together with their parent. Or at the very least, the content that parent watched and approved before. No 2 or 3 year old should be mindlessly browsing Youtube

I did, and now this is permanently burned into my brain: "Daddy finger, daddy finger, where are you? Here I am, here I am, how do you do?"

You monster! Now it's back in my head!

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#23

Post by fufonzo » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 5:21 PM UTC

Ya, on my iPad, I've hidden YouTube from my daughter (3.5 years old) because of the garbage that's on there.

I find Netflix kids to be pretty good. I haven't really seen anything on there that I really disapproved of (some of them I tell her that I prefer she doesn't watch it - mostly because of the consumerism and materialist content, like in Barbie - , and she's pretty good at listening to me). She also has a couple of games on there that she can play.

But ya, the YouTube stuff is absolute trash.

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#24

Post by cpach » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 5:22 PM UTC

Raphmedia wrote: post #13

option wrote: post #2

Kids aged 2 and 3 should watch any content together with their parent. Or at the very least, the content that parent watched and approved before. No 2 or 3 year old should be mindlessly browsing Youtube

Have a look at Youtube Kids ( https://kids.youtube.com/ )

Looks interesting. How well does this app prevent weird/disturbing/bad videos?

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#25

Post by bdamm » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 5:23 PM UTC

thatswrong0 wrote: post #20

corysama wrote: post #16

In the past couple of years there has been a huge uptick in YT content targeting very young children. The feedback loop is so tight that many of the creators have converged on designing some of the most visceral (and disturbing) material that appeals to kids at a reptilian level. Think about how genuinely weird little kids are. Sometimes they do stuff that would be scary if it wasn't just a minute of innocent pretend…

I noticed this myself watching my friends young cousin browse Youtube.. his feed was half clickbait 20-something white guys yelling at you to subscribe Minecraft videos, half perverted (such as Spiderman kissing Elsa from Frozen) or oddly gory children videos like the ones described in the article. If I ever have kids, there's no way in hell I'm letting them run free with an iPad or iPhone. I know it's the "easy way…

You may make a different choice after years of being unable to do anything but give 100% of your attention to the child. Someone needs to cook & clean, or go to work, after all. In the "old days" you'd just cut your kid loose into the environment. Well, these days, TV and iPads are part of the environment, and YouTube along with it.

I'm not saying you wouldn't make boundaries. Boundaries are important. But that may also include a certain amount of time of letting the child "run free" with the iPad.

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#26

Post by fudged71 » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 5:24 PM UTC

corysama wrote: post #16

In the past couple of years there has been a huge uptick in YT content targeting very young children. The feedback loop is so tight that many of the creators have converged on designing some of the most visceral (and disturbing) material that appeals to kids at a reptilian level. Think about how genuinely weird little kids are. Sometimes they do stuff that would be scary if it wasn't just a minute of innocent pretend…

My wife is a teacher and one of her students in grade 2 has somehow been seeing beheading videos (apparently on youtube but that seems nearly impossible) because they are left with an ipad for so long. I can't even begin to comprehend what that would do to the brain of a child.

TV for children is very restricted and regulated for a very important reason.

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#27

Post by bdamm » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 5:25 PM UTC

fufonzo wrote: post #23

Ya, on my iPad, I've hidden YouTube from my daughter (3.5 years old) because of the garbage that's on there. I find Netflix kids to be pretty good. I haven't really seen anything on there that I really disapproved of (some of them I tell her that I prefer she doesn't watch it - mostly because of the consumerism and materialist content, like in Barbie - , and she's pretty good at listening to me). She also has a coupl…

Netflix is great.

Even better is "PBS Kids" series of apps, including "PBS Video" and "PBS Games". 3 and 4-yr old approved. Also work checking out is "PBS Parents".

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#28

Post by bdamm » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 5:28 PM UTC

Donzo wrote: post #6

option wrote: post #2

Kids aged 2 and 3 should watch any content together with their parent. Or at the very least, the content that parent watched and approved before. No 2 or 3 year old should be mindlessly browsing Youtube

Yeah, but how many surprise egg videos does the average parent want to watch? The videos that most children like are of a very poor quality at which most adults would cringe. I've tried to redirect my children toward more high-quality children's programming. You know, stuff with scripts and budgets. Nonetheless, they want these toy porn videos produced by these toddler whisperers. As the article begins, children crav…

My rule is simple. At the point where my mind snaps in half because I've been hearing those surprise egg videos for far too long as background noise, "toy video" time is over, and it's time to choose another genre. I assist by selecting a new vector (robots! rockets! ponies! kid cooking videos!) and give the iPad back.

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#29

Post by Raphmedia » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 5:29 PM UTC

cpach wrote: post #24

Raphmedia wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have a look at Youtube Kids ( https://kids.youtube.com/ )

Looks interesting. How well does this app prevent weird/disturbing/bad videos?

"Videos available in the app are determined by a mix of algorithmic filtering, user input and human review. " https://support.google.com/youtubekids/answer/6172307?hl=en-...

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#30

Post by OmarIsmail » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 5:32 PM UTC

This is why I don't let my kid watch YouTube unattended. Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime offer more than enough content for them. If there's only something available on YouTube then I'll find a playlist with only that content and let them watch that.

YouTube's random suggestions is a killer for kids. The first time I happened upon a "Lego unboxing" video I knew exactly what was going on and realized the danger of it.