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YouTube Kids Is Going to Release a Whitelisted, Non-Algorithmic Version of App

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Re: YouTube Kids Is Going to Release a Whitelisted, Non-Algorithmic Version of App

#31

Post by dbasedweeb »

InitialLastName wrote: post #14
dbasedweeb wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course, most programming for kids has been just that for decades, with a few notable exceptions (Sesame Street, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, others probably). The programs themselves when I was a kid typically took the form of a 22 minute toy advertisement, interspersed with more advertising. Of course, they didn’t have data on my particular viewing habits and a psych profile, but honestly it still worked pretty well…

> they didn’t have data on my particular viewing habits and a psych profile I'd bet that 8-year olds (as a population), with their under-cooked brains and extremely limited autonomy have MUCH more predictable psych profiles and viewing habits than adults as a population. Anecdote for illustration: I, and everybody I went to school with, watched the same show when we got home from school. How much more predictable a v…

I agree, and again anecdotally I found the same to be true when I was a kid at school. At most you had a few sub-groups, like the guys who were into Transformers, and the guys into GI Joe. We were not a sophisticated bunch, but then as you pointed out, our brains were still larval. When Lunchables came out, we all wanted them. From my recollection we didn’t even like the taste, we just wanted them.

There was some variation, but it was all on a predictable theme.

Re: YouTube Kids Is Going to Release a Whitelisted, Non-Algorithmic Version of App

#32

Post by 0x00000000 »

Nition wrote: post #17

Whitelisted by YouTube. Still no app to let the user whitelist channels or videos themselves. Only blacklist, which is useless with the amount of channels on YouTube.

Blacklisting doesn't even work. I blocked a channel and clicked "not interested" on about 10 videos and still keep getting videos from that channel

Re: YouTube Kids Is Going to Release a Whitelisted, Non-Algorithmic Version of App

#33

Post by jstanley »

sintaxi wrote: post #27
mayniac wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

/r/ElsaGate monitors this quite actively. The current prevailing non-tin-foil-hat theory is that some animators realised that they could game YouTube's suggestion algorithm, and that kids videos are an easy target. Kids also are very inquisitive when it comes to subjects you tell them are inappropriate. Over time the videos with darker themes got more clicks and it has spiralled out of control since. Throw in some bo…

That seems like a reasonable non-tinfoil-hat explanation. So why does the elsagate videos follow MKUltra patterns? Is is purely found to be more effective for monetization purposes?

What "MKUltra patterns" do they follow?

Re: YouTube Kids Is Going to Release a Whitelisted, Non-Algorithmic Version of App

#34

Post by 77ko »

The safest way to use YouTube with kids is to download videos offline using youtube-dl or one of its front ends and use an app like VLC to play them.

Kids shouldn't be accessing YouTube directly. It really is bad. A simple example: looking for videos for a school women's history day thingamajig, YouTube kept recommending outright twisted videos which were sort of women's history but algorithmically generated and just plain wrong.

The other interesting thing I found with YouTube is that it's very hard to find good parent curated playlists. The bad stuff overwhelms the good.

Re: YouTube Kids Is Going to Release a Whitelisted, Non-Algorithmic Version of App

#35

Post by jasonkostempski »

One step closer to the only thing I ever wanted, an app that lets me whitelist the channels. Without having to create an account too. The list will be small enough to store locally and pass with every list request. I never want to see another video about colors wrapped in bible verses for the rest of my life.

Re: YouTube Kids Is Going to Release a Whitelisted, Non-Algorithmic Version of App

#36

Post by sintaxi »

jstanley wrote: post #33
sintaxi wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That seems like a reasonable non-tinfoil-hat explanation. So why does the elsagate videos follow MKUltra patterns? Is is purely found to be more effective for monetization purposes?

What "MKUltra patterns" do they follow?

Normalization of trauma and injury. The red, pink, blue, yellow, green colour scheme. Repetition of bugs, knives, needles, and bodily fluids.

Re: YouTube Kids Is Going to Release a Whitelisted, Non-Algorithmic Version of App

#37

Post by mayniac »

borne0 wrote: post #25
mayniac wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

/r/ElsaGate monitors this quite actively. The current prevailing non-tin-foil-hat theory is that some animators realised that they could game YouTube's suggestion algorithm, and that kids videos are an easy target. Kids also are very inquisitive when it comes to subjects you tell them are inappropriate. Over time the videos with darker themes got more clicks and it has spiralled out of control since. Throw in some bo…

I think that's over thinking it a bit, youtube algos are easy to manipulate and a single thread on 4chan can create a fair bit of weird media, for the explicit intent of creating weird media.

I do prefer the 4chan theory, since it satisfies Occam's Razor. That said, the frequency of new videos from multiple channels dedicated to nothing but these videos, as well as the monetisation, makes it unlikely. Also considering the number of subscribers the subreddit has I'm sure that if there were any new 4chan threads suggesting people make those videos it would've been spotted.

It's honestly the sheer number of videos that is the shocking part of the mystery. It's not just a few dozen videos from different animators, it's hundreds of videos from dozens of channels pumping this stuff out. Unfortunately I find it unlikely that we'll ever find out the cause.

Re: YouTube Kids Is Going to Release a Whitelisted, Non-Algorithmic Version of App

#39

Post by [deleted] »

mayniac wrote: post #21
borne0 wrote: post #8

Hmm, my nephew already saw pepa pig having her teeth extracted on YouTube kids so I'm gonna say this is too little too late.

/r/ElsaGate monitors this quite actively. The current prevailing non-tin-foil-hat theory is that some animators realised that they could game YouTube's suggestion algorithm, and that kids videos are an easy target. Kids also are very inquisitive when it comes to subjects you tell them are inappropriate. Over time the videos with darker themes got more clicks and it has spiralled out of control since. Throw in some bo…

[deleted]

Re: YouTube Kids Is Going to Release a Whitelisted, Non-Algorithmic Version of App

#40

Post by em3rgent0rdr »

romuloab42 wrote: post #26
nightcracker wrote: post #12

Wow, a whitelisted, non-algorithmic feed of videos! Oh wait, do you mean... a playlist?

If we could restrict the app to just play videos of a single playlist, life would be great. But today it is very easy for kids to exit playlist mode, thus defeating the purpose of curating a playlist.

So it's just a playlist of playlists then? A meta-playlist.
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