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Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

theatlantic.com

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Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#51

Post by Simon_says »

bdamm wrote: post #25
thatswrong0 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 a…

I hear what you're saying. As a kid in the bad old days, pre-Internet, I used to play outside with my friends for hours at a time. Is that not an option anymore?

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#52

Post by cpach »

ZeroGravitas wrote: post #49
cpach wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I've been using it since launch and think it works as advertised, not only in cutting out the weird stuff but in actively directing the child to educational content. It also has a timer built in, and when the time runs out an animated face shows up and "goes to sleep" which is incredibly effective in avoiding a tantrum when screen time is up.

Cool! Will probably install it soon.

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#53

Post by graphitezepp »

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…

Also part of the first generation internet, definitely believe the internet was deeply harmful to my development, as well as a subset of my peers. Suspect that subset will grow larger with Ipad parenting being normal. Not trying to tell anyone how to parent, but I don't like how ubiquitous internet has become with so little good psychology done on it's effects socially.

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#54

Post by ashark »

verisimilitude wrote: post #46
ashark wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Thankfully they've taken to some PBS shows like Daniel Tiger and Thomas I recommend tracking down some old-school Mister Rogers' Neighborhood if you can. Totally engages my 4-year-old, and she actually talks to him when prompted, which she does with no other children's show. The pace is sedate and the shots long (like, really long, in a way I didn't appreciate as a kid—that had to be difficult to film). They make T…

I agree completely. The long-takes, especially. Amazon Prime Video has a good collection of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood episodes. I'll find myself drawn in to the show in a way I'm not at all by any other kid's shows. Incidentally, Fred Rogers went into television when it was figuring out what a kids show should be; YouTube Kids is in a similar situation now. I wish we had a modern-day visionary who could bring the calm…

It's so hard to know when something from your childhood was genuinely better than stuff today and when it's nostalgia talking, but on returning to it as an adult I'm pretty sure MRN is still the best kids' show anyone's made. And that Sesame Street was (way) better when the central character was the emotionally-more-mature but still-struggling-with-things Big Bird and not the chaotic neutral (but oh so lucrative) emotionally-a-2-year-old Elmo.

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#55

Post by Kenji »

Simon_says wrote: post #51
bdamm wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 a…

I hear what you're saying. As a kid in the bad old days, pre-Internet, I used to play outside with my friends for hours at a time. Is that not an option anymore?

No. Many parents are literally paranoid about their kids being harmed, even though many areas have an all-time low of crime in human history. Not to mention, police picking up children who are playing alone and parents getting into trouble for being "irresponsible". It is f'ed up. Many kids just end up choosing the computer because parents make it easier to access than outside playgrounds and it's just as interesting.

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#56

Post by jethro_tell »

tpeo wrote: post #10
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

As much as I agree, notice that it sort of defeats the point of it all if the they have to sit there with their child. It ain't easy being a parent, a 9 to 5 worker and a household manager within a 24h schedule. If parents leave their children to do some mindless thing while unnatended, it's often because they don't have enough time to give attention to all the stuff which is immediatelly pressing them.

We just have a fire tv with a pin. Each show and between each episode, they bring the remote to us and we decide if they (we) need another PJMasks or not. We also have a kindle which has a very good kids mode. We can set the number of minutes allowed for certain tasks 30min/day video, 20 min/day games, unlimited books. We can also explicitly set the content that is available in that mode. Which means once that's done, I can hand it to them and have a full 50 minutes to cook or clean or what ever I need to do without worrying about access to apps or youtube.

One of my favorite parts about it all is that my kids have been taking selfies, pictures and videos of each other. They are up into the thousands. They put on hats and shoot little films of them jumping off the bed. They interview their uncles, and make cooking and painting shows.

There's a lot of really cool things they do if you limit the non interactive, blob mode of the devices.

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#58

Post by ashark »

jackhack wrote: post #37
ashark wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Thankfully they've taken to some PBS shows like Daniel Tiger and Thomas I recommend tracking down some old-school Mister Rogers' Neighborhood if you can. Totally engages my 4-year-old, and she actually talks to him when prompted, which she does with no other children's show. The pace is sedate and the shots long (like, really long, in a way I didn't appreciate as a kid—that had to be difficult to film). They make T…

All television from the 60s and 70s had extremely long shots by today's standards. Just for fun pick any show on any channel with modern content. Drama, comedy, even news broadcasts -- the average shot duration is only 3.5 seconds. SECONDS! Not only that, but the weird camera angles, and the infuriating "shakey cam" (handled camera being purposely jiggled) is predominant in children's programming, and used to keep ou…

Is that purely a development (not advance, mind) of aesthetic and style, or is it in part because editing with ultra-frequent cuts is much faster and cheaper now than it was then, do you think?

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#59

Post by mcphage »

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?"

Johny! Johny!

Yes papa?

Eating sugar?

No, papa!

Telling lies?

No, papa!

Open your mouth!

Ha, ha, ha!

Re: Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed with YouTube

#60

Post by sharemywin »

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 try to watch everything my kids watch.
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